Leashed Darkness (Original)
by Schingiuire
Summary: Original version of Leashed Darkness. Alucard's taming at the hands of Abraham Helsing.


I do not own Hellsing nor any of its characters.  
This was the very first fic I wrote *way* back in the day. I've tried to keep it buried and kill it with fire because I hate seeing my horrible writing from then. But hey, some of you still like it (for some reason). So here it is. Enjoy it in all it's horrible glory.

Just a strong warning though: Because this work is so old I have not gone through and fixed any typos (it's riddled with them). Nor have I taken the time to format this nicely for posting online. It's lost all the original italics and such.

OoOoO

Chapter 1: Prelude

Pain. It was all he could feel right now, pain. Every fiber in his body was aflame with white fire. Dracula screamed and thrashed, trying to escape the brutal pain that wracked his body. Bloody tears streamed down his face, and ivory fangs gnashed at the air as he let out a continued agonized scream. Chains cut into his body, and blood ran from the wounds.  
These men were thorough in their work, ignoring his agony, though he saw Harker wince when he screamed at the incision freshly cut into his chest. The vampire's blood glowed with Abraham's chanting and the other's workings over his body. Dracula's screaming suddenly cut short, and the men backed up, looking from one another and silently wondering if the spell had been too much for the beast.  
Abraham never paused in his chanting, ignoring the sudden silence from Dracula. The vampire suddenly gasped, arching his back and straining at the chains enough to break the bones in his wrists. A light shone over the smaller cut seals on the back of his hands, a line of light tracing them and burning them permanently into the dead flesh. The light straightened the lines into perfection, leveling out the jagged lines that were made by man's shaking wrists.  
The sigil on Dracula's chest only glowed for a few moments before dimming and dieing out at the same time the lines of light on his hands faded. For a single moment, the mortals in the room could see a line of light connecting Abraham and the demon, but only for a moment, long enough to make them wonder if it had even appeared.  
Abraham's chanting came to a close, leaving shivering men wondering if the terrors of the night had worked. The vampire didn't move, only small twitches and whines that betrayed it's continuing pain. Abraham stepped forward, moving slowly, cautiously to the table. He ran a hand lightly over the creature's chest, a finger tracing over the etched sigil. He stood over the creature, looking down as a slight smirk started to creep up the side of his face. Abraham could feel another part of his mind, the handle to the leash of his new slave.  
Dracula trembled under the human's hand, shaking in terror and the stress his body had just been put through. Though Abraham did not admit or show it in any way, the screams of horror and pain, and even now, the creature's trembling sent happy shivers down his spine. He had been far too ashamed to admit it to his companions, but he had lusted after his obsession with taking control of the beast. To have such beauty and power under his grasp, the great king of the vampires to bow to his will, to prove to all that of his genius, skill, and power as a hunter and dominator of the undead.  
He leaned over the creature, daring to reach and brush blood and hair from it's eyes.  
"Mine. You are mine now, Count. I shall make you powerful…more so than even now, though, you will never taste freedom again. I shall make sure of it," Abraham's cold voice washed over the slight hold Dracula had on reality. He managed a deep shudder before his body gave out, and sweet darkness took him into it's waiting arms.

Chapter 2: Lessons

Dracula huddled in the back of the cell, curled into a corner as much as his chains would allow. As if taunting him, they had placed his coffin only inches from the tips of his claws. He shook, though he wasn't sure why. Most of the pain had faded, only an ache in the sigils engraved into his flesh.  
At times, he felt extreme nausea wash over him, and couldn't help but lean over and dry heave on the stone floor. Abraham had offered him no pride, keeping him chained to the wall wrist, ankle, and throat. There was only enough chain to allow three or four feet of movement in a small arch. Even if the chain had not been made of iron-plated silver, he doubted he would have been able to break it.  
Hunger tore at his form, adding to his discomfort. The most frightening factor, was that he could no longer touch his power. It appeared as if his power had been locked in a room, a room to which he did not have the key. All he was left with was physical power, strength that hardly existed, and heightened senses that were strained with his lack of substance.  
Dracula lay in his corner, arms wrapped around his middle, quaking slightly as his dull, sunken red eyes locked on the iron door well beyond his reach. It was the only entrance to this prison, and no doubt Abraham would return.  
That cursed man, the only human that had ever made him feel fear. Though he did not completely understand what had been done to him that night a week ago, he did understand that his power was locked away, and that man could control it. Abraham had taunted him with words he did not understand in his state, even if he did, he doubt it would make much sense. Though his English was well enough to understand, these humans had accents, which collided with his own.  
A thrumming in his skull made him wince, like a sudden migraine headache. Groaning, Dracula rolled to his side, sitting up and with one thin arm still wrapped around his middle, his other pressed a palm into his forehead. A low keening sound escaped his throat, whining at the pounding through his mind. Nausea rolled in his stomach again, and Dracula dropped to his hands and knees, making his chains rattle, and dry heaved enough to make him wonder if an organ would come rolling out of his mouth.  
When the wave passed, Dracula fell to his side, long pointed tongue hanging from the side of his mouth as he panted. To be brought so low as this was a complete insult to everything he was and had been! Helsing could not hold him forever, he would fight to the end of his time! Perhaps even turn Helsing if he found a way, and enact these same tortures upon the human turned vampire.  
With this comforting thought, and a small hopeful fantasy playing in his mind, Dracula curled up once again in his corner, closing his eyes to allow the wonderful void of sleep take him.  
OoOoO  
"Did it work?" Harker asked nervously, looking at Abraham several days after the ritual. The group had hung about, in a solemn mood as they waited for the moment when Abraham would announce, with full accuracy, that the demon had been bound.  
"I can feel him, he is there, though very weak. I doubt he even knows what happened. Perhaps I should pay him a visit soon."  
Abraham knew for sure the spell had worked, though he did enjoy watching his companions squirm with wondering if they had succeeded. The human mind was an interesting thing. When they became nervous, they would contemplate every dark possibility. Though, there was more than this reason Abraham did not tell them the information they desperately wanted to hear. He wanted Dracula to suffer for a few days, let the severity of his new situation sink into his mind and linger there like a mold, spreading over every level of his mind.  
"I believe I shall pay him a visit this time next week. There is no way he can get out of the cell, even if he did free himself from the chains. And even then, if he escaped, he is far too weak to do much more than drag himself across the floor," Abraham clarified for his friends, carefully watching and noting their reactions.  
Seward, always seeming to be the ever-hardhearted optimist, shook his head and collapsed in a chair.  
"Is he bound or not, Abraham? Did it work or no? I know you know….please, just tell us. Stop this insane playing with our minds."  
The others, Godalming and Harker seemed slightly surprised and turned to look at Abraham. Helsing only chuckled darkly and shook his head.  
"He is bound, yes. It is the matter of if it will hold or not. That is why I have not announced anything. That is why I'm waiting till this time next week to pay the creature a visit to affirm the seal has taken complete hold. I don't want to give any false hopes, my friends."  
Seward still watched Abraham, finding that he trusted the man less and less, but believing that Dracula could not have been chained to a better man.  
"Very well. Then we shall wait."  
OoOoO  
Old metal hinges grated and groaned, trying to support and move the great door at the same time. Abraham held the lantern up high, spilling light into the deep darkness of the cell. He noted the stone near the back had been scuffed as if the chains had been dragged over them continually for several hours. The coffin he had placed in the room, just out of the beasts reach, still sat where he had placed it, only now it had a light film of dust over it's black glossy top.  
It had been, what he hoped, a clear definition of his authority. He controlled if the creature would sleep in it's coffin or not. Dracula had no choice in his existence any longer.  
Yellow light spilled over the huddled form of the creature in the corner closest to it's coffin. Dull red eyes focused on him, and he detected a slight shudder from it's form.  
Dracula lay exposed before the human's scrutiny, not given any clothing to wear except his chains, and denied any substance after the spell had been preformed. Abraham crouched over him to inspect his new slave, noting the etching of the sigil on his hands had not faded, only darkened to look like a burn. The large one on his chest had faded slightly, and might even fade a bit more once properly fed.  
Bruises and small cuts dotted over the perfect, pale flesh. Now for the ultimate test. Abraham reached out slowly, running the tips of his fingers over the creature's side. Dracula flinched and growled darkly, dull eyes flashing slightly. Abraham jerked his hand back, eyes narrowing.  
"Hmm…"  
Again he reached out, the seal should protect him, as he was the thing's master now. As he touched Dracula's side again, he growled even louder, this time pulling thin lips back to expose bloodless gums and long deadly saber fangs.  
Abraham pulled his hand back slightly, blue steel eyes narrowed dangerously. Perhaps the seal only stopped it from attacking, not threatening. He shuddered for a moment, drawing the attention from the creature that lay broken before him. A single thought crossed his mind, what if the seal had not worked? That was not true, he could feel it in his mind, the metaphorical control panel to this creature's pain, pleasure, and movements.  
The human rested a hand on Dracula's side, ignoring the growing snarls and hateful look he was getting from the vampire. Abraham ran his hand down the creature's side, feeling over the deep gaps between it's ribs. He could feel the slight tremble beneath his fingers, and slowly worked his way up to it's shoulder, watching as Dracula creaked open his jaws, his fangs getting clearance.  
Dracula was preparing to strike, the offending hand of this scum human groping over him as if he was some tamed lion. Was it the nature of the hunter to touch his captured prey? It was a foolish nature in this case. When Abraham had worked up to his throat, Dracula struck. Though he was weak to the point of no longer being able to speak, he was not defenseless just yet.  
He aimed for Abraham's upper arm, glad that the human was stupid enough to lean into the reach of his chains. Abraham froze, watching the blur that was his vampire rush up toward him, then suddenly stop. Dracula screeched loudly, having slammed into a wall of pure pain. His body convulsed, wracking with agony from fires and molten silver he could not see. Dracula could feel his bones dust within his starved husk, even his mind was not spared from the cruel agony. Thoughts were torn apart, and lightning struck in his mind, creating a haze in his red vision.  
As suddenly as it had come, it ended. Dracula found he had collapsed in Abraham's lap, blood tears leaking from his eyes. Blood he needed so dearly to sustain his drying frame. What appalled him was the hand gently stroking his hair.  
"You are never to attack the Master," came the human's voice, barely a whisper.  
Dracula shook violently, eyes wide like a child's, full of fear as he looked up at Abraham. So it was true, his freedom was no longer his. Abraham had managed to combine spells, call upon entities long forgotten, and seal the vampire to him: mind, body, and soul.  
"Help me," Dracula whispered, barely finding his voice through the dry throat, hunger wracking his body with waves of nausea. Abraham felt the creature's body convulse, and chuckled darkly, leaning down to whisper near it's face.  
"You will be fed when you please me," he stated.  
Dracula groaned, trying to roll out of the Helsing's lap, wanting to feel the comfort of the cool stone and not wanting to admit that he did find the man's warmth soothing to the pain in his body.  
Was this part of the seal as well? This strange desire to be close to the man? The comfort with underlying terror when he gazed up at him? Surely not… But then again, it would make sense. What better way to keep him loyal but to concoct a seal that would make him love the mortal.  
Abraham chuckled, running his hand through the soft and heavily tangled hair before helping the vampire from his lap, laying it on the floor.  
"I shall give you the opportunity to please me later tonight. When I come down with my companions, you will not growl, you will not show teeth, you will make no show of hostility. Do this, and you will be fed."  
His declaration given, Abraham turned on a heel, walking from the cell and making sure to shut the heavy door solidly behind him.  
Alucard didn't move, knowing the man was gone. A hand gripped at his throat, another wrapped around his stomach. For food, would he be willing to act as Abraham had ordered? Would the seal give him any other option…? It was as if there had been several new instincts woven into his mind. He felt the urge to protect, obey, and love this man who had brought him so low, and seemed to intend to bring him lower.  
OoOoO  
Godalming went first, seeing himself as the protector of the small band. They entered tensely, their collective lanterns lighting the room much more effectively than Abraham's lone one only a few hours before. The bright light hurt his eyes, and Dracula whined, rolling to face the wall. He could hear their footsteps approaching from behind, but made no other movements.  
Abraham knelt behind him; he could feel the man, as he had moved almost as silently as any midian. He could feel the man's hands graze feather light over his flesh. They mumbled among each other, but Dracula was so far in the fog of hunger, that he could not understand their words, only their racing heartbeats. Abraham reached around; drawing the vampire to lie on it's back, much to the beast's displeasure. Though he made no hostile sound, finding that even as he instinctively tried, the seal forbidding it with sharp stings to his body.  
Helsing noted the flinches Dracula made, but doubted his companions did. They were not the most observant lot. He brought his hand slowly over the creature's face, running his fingertips over it's sunken cheeks to the thin bloodless lips. Still, Dracula made no move to bite or even peel his lips back, though he did flinch again.  
"Amazing," he heard Seward gasp. "The demon isn't even moving to attack…the seal worked!"  
Harker allowed himself a smile, reaching up to brush strands of his white hair from his eyes. Finally, he and Mina were safe from this hell beast.  
"Now that I know the success of our mission, I have a family to return to," Jonathon whispered, turning to walk quickly from the room. He didn't want to stay and stare at the defeated monster, only get back to his loving wife.  
Seward and Godalming also congratulated each other, bid Abraham good night and good luck, wanting to catch the coach with Harker and get far from this cursed place. For now their mission was complete, they needed no other reason to stay, nor saw one.  
Abraham looked over his shoulder, grinning at their rushed departure. It had taken great pain and much argument to get them to even get them to agree to this venture. And for now he was grateful for it.  
"You have done well, and pleased me. For this you will be fed," Abraham whispered, removing his hand from the creature's face and reaching into his coat to pull out a small knife. He brought the blade over his wrist slowly. For this was another test to the beast and the seal.  
Abraham held his bleeding wrist over the vampire's mouth. Even when he had cut his wrist, he had noticed the vampire's pupils narrow, much like a reptile's or a cat's pupils. It convulsed, being wracked with powerful hunger pangs, but never did the vampire make a move toward the blood so close to it's face.  
The human smiled, leaning over the vampire and putting his free hand under it's head, lifting it slightly.  
"You may drink," he purred, pressing the wound up to Dracula's mouth. The effect was instantaneous. Dracula opened his mouth wide, wrapping his jaws around Abraham's wrist. Abraham grimaced, but didn't move, even as he felt the pressure of cold fangs. Strange though, the vampire made no move to try and deepen the wound. Either it was terrified of what would happen if the seal disapproved, or the wound was giving enough blood for the starved creature to consume into it's withered body.  
Dracula drank deeply, gulping at the offered blood in abandon. Abraham's blood was amazing, like a virgin's first orgasm. He shuddered, bringing a clawed hand up to wrap thin fingers around Abraham's upper arm. A lust beyond that of what he could ever imagine grew to an obsession. This man's blood was all he would ever need, all he would ever want.  
When Abraham began to pull his arm away, Dracula whimpered, tightening his hand and jaws. The human frowned, tugging harder, but the vampire would not relinquish his meal.  
"Release," Abraham commanded, his voice betraying anger. His vampire had been doing so well! Now this? Now it was betraying him, defying his order. It was to be expected, before this, the creature had been starved to only a drop before it would be like any other corpse, it was only to be expected that it would defy him when strength returned to it.  
Dracula coughed, pulling his head back as if the blood he had been consuming suddenly burned. Though he was nowhere near fully fed or healthy, there was some strength there. Abraham stood, frowning down at the vampire as he pulled out a handkerchief and pressed it against his wound.  
"You would defy me now? Before you even know the nature of what has happened to you?"  
The vampire sat up, chains rattling at the motion. "Release me," Dracula rasped, looking up at Abraham. The human was stunned slightly, for in the creature's gaze was something akin to lust.  
"You are mine, Dracula. You have no hope here. Listen and listen well, Slave. You are bound to me, perhaps you have figured out that much already. You have no hope here any longer. You are mine, mine to do with as I please, and there is nothing you can do about it. The seal is woven into your nature, your mind, soul, and very being. There is no spell that can break this seal. There is only one way that it can be broken and you can be free, and that is with the death of the last Helsing."  
Dracula's eyes flashed at this, the newly consumed blood working feverously to heal the small bruises and cuts. Abraham even noted the slight fading of the sigil on his chest.  
"Though I doubt this will happen, if it does, you will be free. The only side about this is, if the last Helsing dies, and the seal break, it is woven into your mind. When the seal breaks, it takes your mind with it. Your mind will shatter, Count, and you will be no more. I am not totally sure of the outcome, if you become a mindless ghoul-like being, or if you become a feral animal with no understanding. Either way, I'm sure you would not like either outcome. You are no longer free, and there is no escape. So, for your first task, I believe it would be wise to throw out all contemplations of escape and hope. It will make it easier for you."  
Dracula listened silently, his dread growing with each word Abraham spoke. The sent of the man's blood was still strong, and he found himself creeping forward, eyes darting to the cloth covered wound. A thin line of saliva ran from his mouth, dripping to the floor. Abraham had stopped speaking, watching the vampire as it locked it's eyes on his wrist, moving ever closer. Starving dogs were dangerous, that he knew, but this one couldn't attack him.  
"Stay," he whispered, pressing slightly on the seals in his mind. Alucard winced, stopping, shuddering and looking up at the human.  
"Is this how you intend to keep me? So hungry I'm willing to eat the insects from the walls? Please…you torment me with the sent of blood." Dracula's eyes locked on Abraham's wrist.  
"Ask as you should, and I'll consider the idea of giving you more," Abraham replied, raising his arm and wrapping a hand around the cloth-covered wound.  
Dracula stared up at him, confused and shivering. "What am I to do?"  
"Address me as 'master' and ask this on your knees at my feet. Say ' please Master, may I be fed.'"  
The vampire's eyes widened as if he had just been slapped. He couldn't believe what he had just heard. Dracula shook his head, scooting back against the wall.  
"I'd sooner starve!" he hissed hatefully, wrapping his arms around his middle.  
"Then you shall, but do not expect me to acknowledge that you wish to starve when it comes time for your training. You will be treated the same, if you are full or starved."  
Abraham whirled around, then stopped, deciding to give the beast rules now. Better to start early than late.  
"Count!" he yelled, whirling on the vampire and standing over him, arms crossed. Dracula pressed himself against the wall, looking up with eyes tinged with fear at the mortal. "I shall give you a few ground rules that will be enforced by the seals from the moment you hear them, until the end of time or my line."  
Abraham did not wait for the creature's answer or reaction, continuing in a long but forceful monologue.  
"First rule you have already learned I hope. You do not attack the master. To even try will bring instant correction. Second rule, you obey the master's every command. If you rebel or refuse, again, will bring instant correction. Third rule, you will show your master complete respect. This means you will not growl, snarl, or even show your teeth to me in a hostile manner. You will address me as 'Master.' For now, to teach you, you will tack this appellation at the end of every sentence. If you forget, the seal will correct you. Fourth rule, you are not to feed without my permission. You are not to harm, hurt, kill, or injure any living thing without my permission. I believe that will be plenty for now. Follow those, and perhaps you will be let off your leash to roam the manor."  
Dracula winced, shaking his head. He was expected to say 'Master' every sentence? The seal's 'correction' was not something he wanted to feel again, especially as weak as he was. The wrenched vampire just gazed after Abraham, not saying a word or making a sound. The hot blood, however little the amount, did wonders for him. Bits of strength came back, along with the red haze being lifted from his vision. It seemed Abraham's blood was more powerful than normal human blood. He wondered if that was also part of the seal's influence.  
The vampire huddled against the wall, looking to his coffin. Again he crawled toward it, reaching out with desperate hands to try and even touch it with the tip of a claw. And again, it was only inches from his grasp. Dracula keened, backing up to the wall again and wrapping his arms around himself. The least Abraham could give him was clothing… He looked to his hands, examining the seal with hatred. Burned, forever. Branded as the property of a human, like some kind of chattel.  
He rolled to his side, back turned to the door. Sleep was not so forgiving this time. For in his sleep, his subconscious pulled up memories of the sealing, and forced him to wake in a cold terrified state. It was impossible for him to sleep the rest of the night.

Chapter 3: Master

Abraham gazed into the fire, the only light in his study. A cup of hot tea rested on the desk before him. The combination of fire and tea worked well to relax and soothe him. Sleep was creeping upon him, but he was still too exited with his new pet to sleep, even this late.  
He had decided, only a few hours after leaving the beast alone for the night, he would give the vampire a new name. It was the master's job to name the pet. Not take the name it had chosen or come with.  
Abraham wanted this to be yet another subtle demonstration of his authority over the beast. The human had realized that just to beat Dracula into submission would not work, he needed to work at defining and strengthening his authority on both the conscious and subconscious levels of the creature's mind.  
To do this he used brutality, rules, and the seal to conquer the conscious. But to defeat the subconscious would be altogether different. He would have to use subtle methods, like keeping the coffin out of his reach, or giving him a new name.  
The seal also had features to do this. It would force him to dell on certain words or actions, laying the foundations of irreversible slavery. Abraham had also caught signs that another added feature was working. Every dog must be loyal to the master, forced or not. Another backup to keep an otherwise distrustful and unpredictable beast in check. This would also help keep the beast from taking advantage of a weak or sick master.  
If he could keep the vampire dumbed down and confused, it would be easier to control as well.  
Abraham looked from the fire, down to the single sheet of paper on his desk that bore a list of names he contemplated for his slave.  
So far, none of them struck the chord he wished to pluck. He wanted this name to have reason and meaning, and more than just a worded meaning. He wanted the meaning of the vampire's position to be driven deeper every time he heard it.  
Helsing plucked up his quill pen once more, taking a new sheet and scratched out all the names that had been tacked to the vampire over the years: Adrian, Vladimir, Vlad, Dracula, Count, and several others. He tried rearranging the letters of several of the names, hoping to come up with some understandable name that he could have a meaning to. Another hour of work, and he came up empty.  
Suddenly, it struck him like lightening. Abraham had looked up from his sheet, reaching for his teacup, but in the reflective surface of the cup, he saw the word Dracula reflected back at him, but spelled alucarD. Abraham stared at it for several moments, then looked back down to his sheet, scratching out the name and saying it out loud as he did so. Alucard. It was perfect.  
OoOoO  
"Alucard?" Dracula rasped, keeping as far from the mortal as the stone walls would allow. "Why rename me?" He winced, wrapping his arms tighter around himself. Abraham kept his arms crossed, looking down at the creature and sighing.  
"So soon you forget."  
The vampire finally cried out, shaking his head as the seal continued to increase the pressure, a single word echoing in his mind, louder and louder. Master. He knew all he had to do was say it and the pain would stop, but his pride, what little he still had, screamed just as loud.  
Abraham didn't move, a corner of his mouth curling up slightly as he watched his slave cry out in pain. He sighed, crouching down and lashing out to grab a handful of the creature's hair, pulling it's head back and looking down, their faces inches apart. Abraham could see pain in the vampire's eyes, the seal tormenting him.  
"Say it," Abraham hissed, tightening his hold on his hair, jerking the creature against the floor roughly. Alucard shook his head, clawed hands reaching up to try and push his master away, only infuriating him.  
"Very well, we shall try a different method." Abraham released his hold on the vampire, and gripped it's wrists. The starved creature was so thin, he could feel the bones of his wrists, but kept his grip tight, standing and pulling Alucard up with him.  
The vampire cried out again, the seal not relenting in it's effort to force him to say the word he most hated. Soon, he wouldn't be able to speak, unable to lift the pain even if he wished to. Abraham ignored his slave's agony, turning him around and slamming him face first into the wall. Reaching to the side, Abraham pulled free one of the lengths of chain from a nearby hook, folding it in half and wrapping the end around his hand once to get better hold of it.  
One hand holding the trembling, and tormented creature in place, Abraham arched back, and brought the chain hard over the back of Alucard's legs. As weak as he was, the strike was keenly felt. The vampire flinched, trying to pull his legs out of the way, but the next strike landed sharply in the same place.  
Abraham kept to his task, ignoring the growing cries and struggles from the vampire, and adjusting his stance so he could strike the creature's thighs. Dark bruises were forming, and not healing. It seemed that Alucard had used what little blood in his system to work at the seal on his chest, and for other injuries.  
His vision starting to fade from the combined pain of the seal and the stinging blows to his thighs and legs, Alucard felt himself buckle, only being held by Abraham's arm. The human noted this, but refused to relent until he heard that single word from his pet's throat.  
"Say it!" he snarled, continuing strike after strike with the chain. He would have to get more efficient and practical interments of punishment made. He doubted the chain did much more than sting for the weak creature, and if it were well fed, the vampire wouldn't feel it at all. Abraham decided that in order to induce true fear into Alucard, he would have to design silver weapons.  
"No!" Alucard choked out, barely able to even form the word. He was hardly even aware of being hit any longer, the seal punishing him harsher and harsher the more he resisted saying the cursed word.  
Abraham stopped, letting go of the vampire and backing up. Alucard fell to a twitching heap, gasping and curling up. Abraham tossed the chain to the side of the cell, and turned; leaving the creature alone in it's misery. Somehow, this was worse. Alucard rolled over, eyes wide when he saw Abraham leave through the iron door. Gasping he clawed his way to the end of his chains, a hand reaching out at the door.  
It was worse after the human left, as if his presence had kept the seal dulled to a bearable level. A raw scream wrenched from the vampire's throat, and he rolled to his back, flailing and clawing at the air above him. It took only moments before he screamed the word, or what he hoped was the word, at the door. Over and over he screamed it, even after the seal had ended it's torture.  
Abraham continued walking from the dungeons, to the upper levels. He could hear the vampire as it screamed out, and again he confirmed his success in the loyal feature of the seal. Already it had started to work, making Alucard want to be near him. He continued walking, deciding to leave the vampire alone till the next night.  
OoOoO  
The waves of nausea had returned, rolling through him wave after wave for the next hour after he had calmed from Abraham's departure. Alucard's mind was in shambles, obviously taking a toll from the capture, sealing, and torture. The vampire began to try and break into the door locking his power away, but had little luck. He noticed a strange occurrence when he did this; the seals on his hands would glow a bright red when he fought them.  
He lay on his back, looking up at the ceiling, a hand running the tip of a claw up and down his chest, feeling the prominent bones jutting from the flesh. Suddenly, he felt quite prepared to meet Abraham's terms for blood.  
"Mas..ter," he gasped, rolling to his side, back to the door. "I thirst…Please," he continued to whimper, shuddering and knowing, by some inborn instinct, he was about to dry up. In that state, he would be completely helpless, and it terrified him.  
OoOoO  
Abraham grinned down at the immobile creature, dropping to a knee beside it and running his fingers over the light grey hair. It had been the purest of black when he first laid eyes on the vampire king. Though, repetitive tortures, and prolonged starvation had taken it's toll.  
In his other hand, Abraham carried a heavy wooden bowl filled with pig's blood. He set it to the side, rolling the vampire to it's stomach and using the link's on his shackles, hooked his arms behind his back. Once Abraham made sure they were secure, he rolled the creature to it's back, and dipped a finger in the bowl, brushing blood against Alucard's dry lips.  
Subtle movements began, the flutter of eyelids, and twitch of a lip. Before Abraham was truly sure of what had happened, Alucard had leaned up and taken his finger in his mouth, sucking every smear and memory of blood from the surface. Abraham didn't move, allowing the creature to lick at the tip of his finger, work the point of the end of it's tongue under his fingernail. The human narrowed his eyes, a smirk forming on the side of his face once again as he watched his pet.  
"Good boy. Good, Alucard," Abraham purred, pulling his finger from the vampire's mouth to cup his chin and rub the side of his sunken cheek, almost lovingly.  
"Feed, Slave. I know you are hungry." Twisting his wrist, he turned the vampire's face to the bowl, using his free hand to pull it closer.  
Alucard's eyes flashed, and he pulled at his arms, desperate to take up the bowl and drain it. He could smell it wasn't human, but at this point, he didn't care. Giving up on his arms, the vampire rolled to his knees and leaned over the bowl, lapping up his meal as fast as he could, almost losing his balance and dunking his face in it on several occasions.  
Once the bowl had been licked clean, Alucard sat back, purring and using his long tongue to clean his face of all dribbles and smears. His red eyes had gained slight shine, and were flicking over the stone near him, looking for any spatter that had tried to escape, but found none.  
Abraham watched smugly, reaching out to run a hand over the vampire's hair and unlocked his wrists from each other. Alucard turned, red eyes flashing, but kept his instincts to rip the man apart at bay. He wasn't sure if he could handle another bought of seal induced punishment.  
"Good boy, Alucard. We are starting your training tomorrow. It would be wise to eat all that is given to you, and perhaps…please me for more."  
"Alucard…" the vampire whispered hoarsely, scooting out of the human's reach and shuddering.  
Abraham nodded, smirking again. "Yes. Your new name, my pet. Reverse the life, reverse the name. Once a king, now a slave. Fitting I believe."  
The vampire said nothing, head hanging low. He was hungry, that little bit of blood helped, but he still was a walking skeleton. Abraham sensed some inner turmoil of his pet, but stood, preparing to leave. Tomorrow would be rough on the beast, and he had to get rest as well.  
"I suggest you sleep, Alucard. Your training will begin at sunrise."  
Alucard's head shot up, eyes wide. He had felt the burn of the sun, and never wished to feel it again. "Wait….Master," he whispered, reaching a hand out slightly toward the mortal. Abraham stopped, sadistic glee welling inside him again.  
He heard the clinking of chains, and a form dragging itself across the floor. Abraham turned, crossing his arms and gazing down at the vampire who refused to look up into those crystal blue, and smug eyes. Alucard pulled himself onto his knees, shaking with hatred, shame, and starvation. He rested his palms against the stone, digging his claws into them. Slowly, he lowered his head, sinking the front half of his body down to a respectable position, bowed at Abraham's feet.  
With his forehead only inches from touching the stone, Alucard closed his eyes, hoping to keep blood tears from escaping, and shuddered again.  
"M..Mas..ter. May I please… be fed…..and my…coffin." The words came slow, long pauses between several of them. He even felt as if he were choking upon them, nausea welling in his stomach again. Though his Romanian accent was thick, he knew the human had understood him.  
"Almost," Abraham replied, unable to keep the triumph from his voice. "'May I please be fed and have the privilege of the coffin, Master'" he said, correcting the creature's use of 'my.'  
Alucard gritted his teeth, nausea rolling in his stomach stronger. He curled his hands into fists, and winced when he felt claws tear into his palms.  
"May…I please…be fed …and… have the…privilege of ….the coffin, Ma….ster," Alucard gritted out again, spitting out the word 'privilege', finding it most distasteful.  
Abraham closed his eyes, shuddering and running the tip of his tongue over his lips. Submissive words from the beast's lips while he knelt at his feet brought waves of pleasure over him.  
"Good boy," he purred, though made no move to pet or touch his slave. "I'll have one of my men bring you more blood. You may not have the privilege of sleeping in the coffin unless you do well tomorrow. For now, you may gaze at it, and think of ways to please me enough to even be able to even touch it."  
Abraham knew a vampire's most valued possession, most protected object, was it's coffin. Take that from the beast, and it was nearly effective as starving it. He grinned at he keening noise Alucard made, chuckling and turning away, moving for the door. The human stopped, hand raised slightly, then turned.  
"Also, the man coming to feed you. You will not attack, harm, or kill him. I believe that was rule number three." With that, he left the vampire, still in it's kneeling position, shaking with extreme hatred and fury. The complete humiliation he had just been forced to perform, and not even getting half of what he had to beg for!  
Alucard raised his head, eyes glowing, lips pulled back in a snarl. He seethed, at the injustice of the situation. His body ached, he needed blood and the enveloping arms of his coffin. Though, even now he felt love and devotion to the mortal. It was subtle, but it was there, and it infuriated him even more. To be treated like a dog, like dirt, yet the seal still pressed these strange foreign instincts on him that completely clashed with his natural ones.  
OoOoO  
Edwards crept down the stairs slowly, having never liked the lower levels in the first place. He couldn't understand why Dr. Helsing had asked him to bring blood to one of the hell beasts he kept locked in cells below. Only the other doctors, and specific employees trained to deal with the demons were allowed down here.  
He looked down the row of cells, shuddering as he gripped the pitcher in both hands. Dr. Helsing promised that the thing wouldn't hurt him, couldn't hurt him, but that didn't delude his fear in the least.  
It was the last cell on the end of the second level, number 1510. Edwards shuddered at the sounds of other creatures similarly locked in cells. Their moans and even dieing cries sending shivers of fear through him.  
Dr. Helsing was a vampire hunter to the core, though he also was a scientist. Edwards had seen several of the poor doomed beasts being brought in, captured and used as experiments for the other doctors.  
Edwards fumbled with the key, unlocking the great iron door and pushing it open. He held up his lantern and set it on the floor where he would be able to see what was going on easily without tying up a hand with it constantly.  
The poor creature lay in the back of the cell, curled up and huddled into the smallest position it could get. Edwards nearly dropped the pitcher at the sight of such an emaciated being. Though, he had been told these creatures were dead, though alive at the same time, and could survive such horrors.  
Edwards approached slowly, spotting a large wooden bowl near the body, and stepped as quietly as he could, believing the beast to be asleep. He leaned down, pouring the deep red liquid into the bowl, filling it then backing up as the beast started to move.  
Alucard growled, pushing himself up slightly and looking over at the frightened looking human. His eyes gravitated to the bowl and he purred deeply, reaching out and picking up the bowl carefully in both clawed hands. He raised it to his lips, beginning to gulp at it then lick it clean. Once done, Alucard looked up, setting the bowl down and backing up to the wall.  
A grin spread on his face, blood stained teeth glistening eerily in the lantern light. Edwards moved forward, pouring the rest of the liquid into the bowl, then backing up, intending to leave.  
His mistake was made when he looked into the creature's glowing red eyes, it was the break Alucard had been waiting for. The twitchy mortal was in his grasp the moment he had looked into his eyes. The human's mind was weak, easy to take over, even in his own weak state. The seal didn't seem to be preventing him from his lower mental powers.  
With the human held in his grasp, Alucard bid him come closer. The pitcher fell from his hands, shattering against he cell floor as Edwards shuffled forward, staring into the deep hellish eyes. Alucard stood, purring and reaching out to embrace his enchanted mortal, pressing his nose against the man's throat and breathing in deeply.  
The seal thrummed, forbidding him to bite, but Alucard backed up, running a hand over the side of the human's face. The order was unspoken, Edwards already knew what was wanted of him. Not taking his eyes from the vampire, he crouched, picking up a shard of the broken pitcher and slashing his wrist. The human didn't even flinch, but offered the bleeding appendage to Alucard.  
Alucard gladly took it, wrapping his jaws around the man's wrist and drinking deeply. He noticed it instantly; Abraham's blood had spoiled the taste for him. This meal was a far cry from the life nectar his master had given him.  
He stopped just short of drinking him dry, the seal thrumming as a reminder to not kill. Dragging his tongue over the wound to seal it, Alucard dropped the now unconscious man and grinned wickedly, feeling much better. The vampire stretched, then worked with the chains again with his new strength, though not having any better luck.  
Alucard looked over his shoulder at the unconscious man and laughed. Abraham would tear his hair out at this one! He couldn't wait to see the man's face.  
OoOoO  
Abraham sat silently in his study, waiting patiently to see if his experiment had worked or failed. He had purposefully sent Edwards, a young butler of his house, expendable, and having no clue how to handle vampires. Testing the seal, and his new pet.  
Helsing leaned back in his chair, running his fingers over his new tool of punishment. It was nothing but a three foot long silver rod, about an inch thick. These silver rods where were used to make the stakes he used when hunting. Now he had found a more efficient use for this one.  
The hours went by, and he never felt anything. The seal had not alerted him that his pet had disobeyed him. Smiling, Abraham stood, preparing for bed. It had been a taxing night, and he still had much to work out for the beginning of his slave's training tomorrow.  
Abraham slid the silver rod into his desk, leaving it for the time it might be needed. His bed called to him, and the vampire hunter trudged up the stairs, looking forward to a good five or six hours of rest.

Chapter 4: Training Day One

Alucard purred deeply, curled around the barely living from of Edwards. He had ripped the human's suit jacket and shirt away to expose the bare flesh of his chest. The vampire then wrapped his arms around the man, pressing their bodies tightly together  
It was another from of feeding. Alucard 'fed' from the man's body heat, stealing his warmth. Though it could not kill, it would leave Edwards with a powerful headache, tense muscles, and a chill that would not easily leave.  
With the sun's presence in the sky, Alucard tucked his face under Edwards' chin, and let sleep take him.  
OoOoO  
Abraham woke early, only just as the sky was getting lighter, and dressed for the day. He took his breakfast in his study as normal, again opening the drawer to retrieve the silver rod. Abraham ran his fingers over it's smooth surface and smiled, almost hoping the vampire would do something to deserve it. And he most likely would, the beast was still far too free willed for the situation he was in.  
Helsing stood, tucking the rod into his belt under his coat and descended to the dungeons. Before he reached Alucard's cell, he stopped to speak with several doctors, approving terminations of several subjects as the experiments failed.  
Once everything had been taken care of, he stood before Alucard's door, searching through the keys until he took a closer look. The door was slightly ajar. Narrowing his eyes, he put his keys away and pushed the door open slowly. Abraham clenched his teeth, fury welling inside of him at the sight before him. Though he was sure the vampire was asleep, Edwards was gasping slightly, obviously in need of medical treatment.  
Looking over his shoulder, Abraham called one of the other doctors from down the hall. He didn't want to wake his sleeping vampire, wanting to surprise the beast. After telling the doctor his plan, Abraham stepped behind Alucard, pulling out the silver rod and bringing it down harshly onto the creature's back.  
Alucard's eyes snapped open, and he began to breathe slightly, a natural instinct to help confuse hunters if he were living or dead. This tactic did little to confuse those that already knew what he was, and it did not stop the second blow to connect with the back of his skull.  
Though he had been stunned with the first waking blow, Alucard had not truly felt pain from it, having not been aware. The second blow fully wakened him, and he screeched, throwing himself to the side like a drunken man, hardly able to keep his feet as he tried to collect his thoughts.  
The doctor rushed to collect Edwards, almost dragging the man from the room. Abraham growled, raining blows down onto the cowering vampire. Alucard huddled with his back against the wall, arms up to shield his face. Snarling, he came to his senses, the initial fogginess of sleep and a blow to the skull fading. Then the pain started to settle in, and Alucard felt the searing pain of the blackened burns the silver left in his flesh.  
Roaring, Alucard lashed out, grabbing the rod as it came down, and stopped it's momentum short. The flesh of his palm burned and sizzled with contact of silver, but he didn't let go, strengthened by the fresh blood he had recently consumed.  
Abraham was slightly shocked when his vampire grabbed the bar, and slammed down on the seals with powerful mental force. Alucard screamed, dropping to the ground with his arms wrapped around his middle. Abraham took a step back, and continued to slam the silver rod into the vampire's back, leaving wicked marks in the pale flesh. Alucard cried out with each strike, abandoning his earlier tactic of fighting back, and coping for a more desirable course of getting away. His desperate scrambles to escape only seemed to anger the human more, until Abraham grabbed Alucard's neck chain, jerking back and standing on it to keep him still.  
Once his anger had run it's course, Abraham stepped back, holding a bloody rod, sizzling from the contact of blood and silver. Alucard cowered in a corner, trying to get far from the man, shivering and whimpering. Blood ran from the scorched flesh of his back and arms, and the sent of burning flesh had filled the cell. Abraham wiped a bit of sweat from his forehead and crossed his arms over his chest, glaring down at the beast.  
"You disobeyed me," He hissed, feeling his fury build up again, and preparing to go through a second session with the monster. Alucard said nothing, lying against the wall of his corner, arms still held over his head to fend off any unexpected blows.  
Abraham gritted his teeth as he looked down at his slave, furious that the seal had not stopped the creature from taking and nearly killing the man. He would have to work on discouraging the idea of loopholes in his orders as well…  
"Get up," he ordered, stepping forward threateningly, but crouched to unlatch the vampire's shackles, though leaving him held by the throat. He unhooked the neck chain from the wall  
Abraham dragged the still naked vampire down the hall, muttering under his breath. He caught one of the caretakers as they walked by, and told the man of the shattered porcelain mess from the broken pitcher in Alucard's cell, and to make sure it was cleaned, then continued walking angrily down the hall.  
Alucard whimpered, wrapping his arms around his middle and huddling within himself. His flesh burned harshly from the human's beating, and he was still bleeding from several wounds. The vampire could hear the cries of his children around him. Several sounding as if they had gone insane, others in agony, and still others screaming their dieing cries. This place was a hell for his kind… And Abraham was Lucifer here. He had trouble keeping up with the human, as he was still sore, and very hungry. One human and a few mouthfuls of pigs blood was barely enough to bring him back from drying up.  
Abraham jerked the leash chain when the vampire fell behind, pulling the creature off balance. Alucard scrambled to regain his footing, but fell to the stone floor. He looked up in terror as Abraham stood over him, still holding the silver rod in one hand. Fearing another beating, Alucard curled up, trembling. Nearby, a vampire screamed as it was terminated from experimentation failure.  
The cries around him aroused Abraham, and he purred, gripping the silver rod and contemplating if he should terrorize the vampire at his feet more. Chuckling lightly, he decided against it, instead reaching down to grab a handful of Alucard's tangled mass of hair and jerk him to his feet.  
"Heel," he hissed, tapping the end of the rod against Alucard's thigh to make him flinch to the side. The vampire hissed at the contact, and jerked to the side, tensing and wishing the chain was longer to allow him to get further away from the human.  
Abraham nodded, and turned to continue walking, smirking when he noticed the vampire doing a better job at keeping up. He stopped at a large double doorway and pushed inside, picking a door labeled 3.  
He opened the door, leading his slave behind him and nodding to the doctors already assembled and performing an experiment. Alucard's eyes widened at the scene before him, and huddled slightly behind Abraham, actually grateful to the mortal's presence for once.  
Three white clad doctors circled a vampire, chained down to a metal table. It's chest had been cut open down to the middle of his abdominal area. The flesh and muscle had been peeled back and was tacked down to keep it out of the way as the doctors dissected the poor creature. It's rib cage had been cut open, and was pulled back as well, held back with hooks while one doctor inspected the heart and other organs.  
The vampire was still alive and awake, struggling as much as it could in it's restraints. Screams were muffled by a bar shoved in it's mouth and strapped tightly about it's head. The bar also prevented it from biting the doctors that worked over it.  
Alucard trembled, moving closer to Abraham so their bodies barely touched. The seal seemed to sense his anxiety and strengthened the need to be close to his master. Abraham chuckled, looking over his shoulder at the huddled vampire.  
"Welcome to the labs, Slave. I'll have you in here later, though you are not as expendable as they are. Take a good look, and remember." Abraham purred again, licking his lips and tugging the vampire to the far corner of the lab, pulling back a plastic curtain. The area was tiled, different from the rest of the stone room, and sunken in one corner. A drain was built into the lowest point.  
Abraham pulled the vampire into the area, and turned to look at him. "This was the only room with an area for cleaning. Each lab is designed for different types of experiments or activities. Do not disappoint me, and you may get a treat tonight despite your behavior earlier," he growled to the vampire's face. Though it was a straight lie, but Abraham believed it might incite the creature to want to obey.  
He grabbed Alucard's wrists, forcing them together and over his head, where he chained them in shackles the vampire had not noticed hanging from the ceiling. Alucard whimpered, feeling more helpless than he had chained in the cell. Abraham made sure he was held fast, and then removed the neck shackle and lead chain, turning to leave the vampire alone behind the plastic curtain.  
Alucard whined, struggling for a moment, then falling still, trembling at the muffled screams of the vampire and the mumbles of the doctors across the room. He waited several minutes, squirming and whining, trying to shut the horrible sounds off.  
Abraham intentionally waited longer than was normal, letting the vampire suffer before reentering the lab followed by several of the caretakers. They carried wire and bristle brushes and several buckets of water, as well as a few bars of soap. Abraham entered the curtained off area where his pet still stood chained and gestured to him, nodding at the men.  
The vampire's eyes went wide and he growled lowly at them as they approached. Abraham moved in behind him, forcing his mouth open and shoving one of the bars into his mouth, just like the vampire outside. He could instantly tell it was silver, but Abraham had shown a speck of mercy by wrapping it in cloth to keep contact to the inside of the vampire's mouth minimum. Abraham strapped it tightly to Alucard's head, and then backed up, nodding to the men again.  
They moved around him, despite his growls and thrashes, and dumped water over him, beginning to scrub at his flesh.  
"Be still," Abraham growled from somewhere behind him. Alucard shuddered and instantly went still, allowing the men to scrub his flesh clean of the grime from the cell. He screeched, struggling again when one of the men took a wire brush and began scrubbing at the wounds on his back, trying to clean them of burned flesh. Abraham growled, stepping forward and taking the brush from the man, pushing him out of the way.  
Helsing grabbed a handful of Alucard's hair, pulling his head back roughly while running the wire bristles harshly over the creature's wounds. "Care to fight me again?" He hissed furiously. The other men backed up, not wanting to get caught in the middle of a struggle, which would end badly for the vampire.  
Alucard closed his eyes tightly, trembling and fighting the urge to struggle with all his might. Pathetic whimpers escaped around the bar in his mouth, but he made no other sound.  
"Are you sure you don't want to defy me again, Slave? Sure you don't want to struggle when I ordered you to be still?" Abraham snarled in Alucard's ear, pressing the wire bristles deep into the vampire's injured flesh and scrubbing them up and down. Alucard shuddered, thrusting his body out away from Abraham as best he could, only putting strain on his arms and getting off balance. He nodded weakly, biting into the cloth wrapped bar to vent his pain.  
"Good," he nodded, backing up and handing the bloodied wire brush back to the caretaker and standing nearby, arms crossed as they returned to their task. Abraham shuddered as he watched them, shifting his legs and running his tongue over his lips. Having this creature tremble beneath him had triggered that sweet shiver down his spine once again.  
The vampire was nearly as tall as he, but that didn't seem to be as much of a factor as he believed it would. Alucard had either been on the floor, hunched, or not even paying attention to their heights when he had been near. Though, Abraham admitted to himself, he would prefer to have the beast looking up at him.  
Amusingly, Alucard didn't make any other movements but to flinch several times. Though, overall, Abraham was pleased with his pet's behavior! After the caretakers had thoroughly cleaned Alucard, scrubbing him free of all grime, burned flesh, and dried blood, Abraham approached from him from behind. He took out a comb and a pair of scissors, and began to run the comb through the creature's tangle of hair, less than kindly working the knots free.  
Alucard winced, though not moving in fear of angering the man any further. Abraham grumbled, taking the scissors and cutting free several of the knots, deeming them unfixable. When he finally finished, he stood back to look at the vampire's hair. It fell to nearly the middle of his back, sticking to his flesh from the water. Mumbling to himself again, Abraham stepped forward, cutting his hair off at the base of his neck, then working it into what he deemed was an appropriate style.  
Once he had finished entirely, Alucard's hair fell just over his eyes in the front, and slowly hung lower around the rest of his head, barely covering his ears. Abraham moved around the vampire, nodding at the change a good cleaning had done. He waved a hand at the caretakers, and they dumped a final few buckets of water over Alucard, to clean him of cut hair, then departed.  
Abraham smiled, circling around the vampire again before stopping in front of him, and reaching out to tilt his head up with a finger.  
"Will you behave?" he asked victoriously.  
Still trembling and listening to the half dead moans of the vampire just beyond the curtain, Alucard nodded slightly. Abraham smiled, approving and releasing his arms, followed by the bar.  
"Heel," he growled, deciding to leave the vampire off leash to test him. Alucard followed closely, arms wrapped around his middle. He kept his head down; rather not wanting to see what mess they had made of the poor creature across the room, and eagerly followed Abraham from the lab.  
They were met outside by a caretaker holding a black blanket, which Abraham took, unfolded, and wrapped around Alucard's shoulders.  
"I'm having you a special suit tailored this week. For now, keep this wrapped around yourself unless you feel some urge to wander about wearing nothing. Welcome to your first day of training."  
Alucard said nothing, keeping his posture nonthreatening and gazing down at his feet. He noticed light flecks of blood on his master's boots, mostly ignoring everything the mortal said and focusing on the dark specks.  
"Are you paying attention to me, Slave?" When Alucard made no movements, Abraham growled, backhanding the vampire across the face hard enough to split his lip, and probably much of the inside of his cheek, over sharp teeth. Alucard winced, staggering back and raising a hand to his lip, running the tip of his tongue over the blood trail.  
He looked up at Abraham, sucking on his bleeding lip and gripping the blanket around him, finding it's coverage comforting, as if a shield. "Master," he whispered quietly, releasing his lip when it healed. Abraham said nothing, frowning at the vampire and shaking his head, patting his thigh.  
"Come."  
Though Alucard detested the dog references such as this, he knew he had no choice but to follow, or risk the human's sadistic wrath again. He walked close to Abraham, bumping his head into the man's back when he suddenly stopped. Abraham shooed him back a few steps, then looked into a cell, frowning.  
"No…I had hoped this one would succeed." Abraham mumbled curses under his breath, and unlocked the cell. Alucard looked on, mildly interested and followed in behind the man.  
The poor vampire chained to the back of the cell looked as if rot had sunk it's claws into his flesh. Whatever chemical had been injected into it's body had wrought terrible horrors on the vampire. Alucard gritted his teeth, keeping his head low and backing up a step. Abraham knelt over the half dead beast then sighed, shaking his head again and reaching into his coat for his flintlock pistol. Finding it empty, as he had already used it to put down another failure. He turned to Alucard, smiling slyly.  
"Kill him," he ordered, stepping back out of the way. Alucard tensed, but stepped forward when the seal thrummed. A hand dropped, leaving the task of clutching the blanket closed to it's brother. Alucard took another step forward, clenching his fist then relaxing his fingers, allowing the deadly claws to grow. He wasn't sure what had been done to this vampire, but he hoped he could end it's existence quickly.  
With a quick lunge, Alucard plunged his clawed hand into the rot of the creature's chest, and ripped out it's heart, dropping it before it dusted in his hand. He stared down at the pile of dust at his feet, then turned to Abraham, a low growl in his throat.  
"You are sick…. how many others do you have here, like that poor creature in the lab, and this one? How many others?" he snarled, taking a threatening step toward Abraham.  
His questions and actions were not taken kindly, as Abraham slammed down on the seal, purring at Alucard's screams. He stood over the fallen and shaking vampire, already having taken out the silver rod again and rolling it through his fingers.  
With a growl, Abraham descended on Alucard, gripping both ends of the rod and shoving it under the creature's chin, forcing his head down on the stone. Abraham straddled the vampire, holding him down, eyes blazing in fury. Alucard struggled, having wrapped his long fingers around Abraham's wrists and trying to pry the man off him, to no avail. The silver digging into his throat seared his flesh, making him choke out a scream, though even through his thrashes was he able to even shift Abraham's weight.  
"You are a slow learner," came Helsing's angry hiss. "Does it matter how many of what I have here? I don't believe so. The crown funds my ventures. Your kind are rats in this city, rats that I find do quite well in the lab. When I heard of you coming to our little island, I couldn't contain my glee. You were foolish enough to get yourself caught! You are mine! What you were is no more! The sooner you accept that, the easier it will be on you."  
Abraham continued to hold the creature down by the silver bar at his throat, and his own weight. Alucard lessened his struggles, focusing his energy on trying to pry Abraham off his throat, for the silver was wreaking havoc on the sensitive flesh.  
"Do not resist me," Abraham snarled, leaning down on the bar, which caused Alucard to struggle more, though weakly. The vampire finally stopped resisting, reaching up to grip the cloth of Abraham's coat. The human smiled, nodding and leaning back, removing the silver from Alucard's flesh, but keeping it out incase the vampire still had some foolish notions of hostility.  
Alucard gasped, though he did not need to breathe, and tried to roll away from the human, but was trapped by his knees on either side of his body. Coughing, he let go of Abraham's coat, wincing as he touched the charred flesh of his throat. Abraham looked down, smiling and almost morning the creature's stillness, rather enjoying the feeling of the vampire struggling under him.  
Chuckling, he leaned down, setting the bar down beside the vampire's head and gripped Alucard's chin, forcing his head back so he could get an unrestricted view of the damage. Alucard's hands hung suspended in the air near his throat, not sure what to do with them. Helsing looked over the wound and sighed, running his finger over Alucard's throat and shaking his head. The vampire probably wouldn't be able to speak or swallow easily until this was healed. Probably a good thing.  
He leaned back but still sitting atop his pet, smiling down at him. Alucard made another weak attempt at getting away, but stopped when Abraham picked the rod back up.  
"Get up before you get dirty again," Abraham said sternly, standing and reaching down to grab Alucard's upper arm, pulling him to his feet. He frowned when he noticed the wounds on his back and arms bleeding again, but paid them no mind for now. He would bandage the creature up when they reached the upper levels.  
Abraham bent down, retrieving the blanket, which had been pushed aside and mussed under the vampire in the struggle. Popping it in the air to rid the fabric of any dirt, he turned and wrapped it around Alucard again, then turned and left the cell, headed for the stairs and expecting the vampire to follow.  
Alucard stood where he was for a moment, his panting coming in raspy gasps. He needed no breath, but his body instinctively did so when in such a situation. Dismissing the habit, Alucard quickly followed behind Abraham, wincing as the fabric of the blanket rubbed at his back.  
They walked up a long flight of stairs, entering an entirely different world. Whereas the ambiance of the lower levels had been thick with pain, torture, and death, here the air was thick with the sent of flowers, cooking food, and soap. Abraham gripped Alucard's upper arm, leading him up another flight of stairs toward a pair of ornate doors. Several humans passed by them in the hallway, greeting Helsing, and staring at the vampire.  
Abraham ignored them all, pushing Alucard ahead of him into the study and locking the door behind them. Alucard looked around, his red eyes shining at the stacks of books, comfortable chairs, and beautiful oak desk. He looked to the large fireplace, though, no fire burned this early in the day. The vampire was rather grateful the curtains were drawn, not wanting to be pulled into direct sunlight and burned to death.  
"I want this room cleaned today. Spotless. The books are to be arranged according to author's last name, and the floors are to be swept and mopped. I want the mantle and furniture dusted as well and the ashes from the fireplace dumped."  
Alucard turned, gazing at Abraham in confusion and amazement. Did this man really mean to put him to work like a common maid?  
"Did you hear me, Slave? You have your orders. Everything you need can be found at the back of the room. Get to work, I'll return momentarily and I expect you to have started when I return," Abraham gazed threateningly at the vampire, who still didn't move, and turned to leave, locking the door behind him and heading for the medical wing to collect bandages.  
Alucard shook, gritting his teeth and wincing when he tightened his jaw muscles and pulled at the freshly injured flesh of his throat. The renewed pain acted as a reminder, and he shuffled to the back of the room to find broom, mop, pail, duster, and a small shovel laid out for him. Clenching his fists, the vampire dropped his head then pulled the blanket back, wrapping it securely around his waist and picked up the broom, beginning to sweep the smooth tile floor.  
As promised, Abraham stepped in several minutes later, pleased to see Alucard had already begun sweeping. He left the drapes closed, not wanting to deal with sunlight issues just yet, but planning to in the future. He carried several rolls of cloth bandage, and called Alucard over to his desk. The vampire walked over, leaning the broom against the wall and eyeing Abraham cautiously. Helsing ignored his look, motioning for him to turn around, then began wrapping the vampire's torso and lower back in bandage. Alucard cringed at the contact, and Abraham frowned to see blood seeping through. He would do something about this if it were still bleeding tomorrow morning. Abraham bandaged the wounds on Alucard's arms in the same manor as well.  
Next he took a small bristle brush and turned Alucard around, cleaning away the burned flesh of his throat, much to Alucard's mortification. It fired at so many of his instincts, to not have anything dangerous near the vital part of his body, but the seals fired back, threatening him with unbearable pain if he even lifted a claw. He stood shaking, head tilted back as Abraham worked.  
The human seemed to know what was happening to his vampire, and chuckled, taking a damp cloth and rubbing it over the wound, then wrapping Alucard's throat in bandage. Abraham backed up, noting the seeping blood but waving his hand for the vampire to continue with his task.  
Alucard felt uncomfortable wrapped up as he was, finding bending to be painful as the bandage rubbed at his back. Vampiric blood didn't clot, as their metabolism was supposed to heal a wound before too much blood was lost. Silver counteracted that supernatural ability, keeping the healing process from working, and bleeding the creature to death. Silver wounds healed incredibly slow, and the vampire would need to drink large amounts of fresh blood to heal such a wound if it even survived the initial injury.  
Abraham sat in one of the chairs, picking up a book he had been working on and began reading, keeping an eye on the vampire as it cleaned. Several hours later, a servant arrived carrying a tray of food, declaring lunch for Dr. Helsing and sat it upon his desk. The man hesitated for a moment, eyeing the bandaged vampire with curiosity, before Abraham shooed him from the room and turned to his meal.  
The smell of cooked meat filled the room, and Alucard looked up from his job of arranging books, eyeing the tray. Cooked food didn't appeal to him much, but this smelled rare. Perhaps a rare stake or some other meat. Alucard stood, sliding the books he had in hand onto the shelf then creeping cautiously over the Abraham. Though he had fed from the mortal, he was still weak and starving, bones sticking far from his flesh. Even this meal smelled delicious to him.  
Abraham noticed the absence of sound, turning to chastise the vampire for not working, but stopping when he realized the vampire was right behind him, leaning over his shoulder to eye his lunch. Chuckling the human held up his fork, brandishing a piece of meat at the creature.  
"Still hungry? I didn't realize you ate meat."  
Alucard shook his head, mouth watering. The seal had seemed to make him twist all the beatings he had endured into good things. He deserved to be hit, tormented. His master was teaching him. Though the vampire's rational mind screamed curses in five different languages at this feeling, he couldn't hide it completely, and approached his master like a loyal dog, begging for scraps from his plate.  
"No, Master. I don't eat…this kind of meat normally, but it is not uncommon for us to devoured a corpse when starving or crazed," he whispered hoarsely, wincing at the pain in his throat and, eyeing the piece of meat like a starved dog.  
Abraham chuckled, catching Alucard's tone of voice behind 'this kind of meat.' Vampires wouldn't touch anything already dead, and this meat had been cooked from an already dead source. It intrigued him though, how Alucard seemed to act, and he peeled it from this metal prongs with his fingers, holding it out on the tip of his fingers.  
"No hands," he ordered, sneering. Alucard closed his eyes, swallowing then stepped forward, snatching the meat up from the human's hand with his teeth. Abraham internally celebrated his victory, seeing the creature eat from his hand as a milestone.  
"Good boy," he purred, taking a napkin and wiping his hands clean as he watched Alucard swallow it whole. "Finish you job," he ordered, turning back to his plate.  
Alucard huffed, feeling rather used to only get one scrap, but backed up, turning back to his book-sorting task. Abraham finished his meal within a few minutes, pushing the tray away and continuing reading as he leaned back. He shut the book an hour later, standing and looking to Alucard, smiling and leaving the study for the bathroom.  
As soon as Abraham left, Alucard sat down, resting for a few moments from dusting the shelves. The room did look much better, and he felt slight pride in seeing his efforts, however forced, show progress. His eyes locked on something bright red on Abraham's desk, and he stood, looking to the door then moving slowly toward the red spot. His eyes normally gravitated to anything red, being an instinct to seek out the colour of his meal.  
A bowl of untouched strawberries rested on the tray among empty plates, and Alucard reached out, picking one up and nipping into it, lapping a bit of the juice up with his tongue. Though he never ate much besides his normal diet, he found the taste to be quite pleasing. He finished the bowl off in moments, licking his fingers and lips clean of juice then returning to dusting, leaving a bowl of shriveled, dry strawberries on Abraham's tray.  
Abraham returned, instantly looking over to the vampire to make sure he hadn't left, and nodded, sitting back at his desk. The human noticed the strawberries strange transformation from ripe to…something akin to prunes, and looked to Alucard, laughing.  
"You eat fruit too? Odd beast. Don't eat from my plate again without my permission!" He growled, but continued to laugh, wishing he could have seen Alucard sucking on the strawberries.  
Alucard counted it as a small victory, licking his lips again and grinning. Abraham wrote this new observation into his journal, making a note to the side to have strawberries a rare treat for the vampire.  
Two hours later Alucard had the room spotless, and stood before Abraham, looking smug that he had completed the task without much difficulty. Though he had gotten one of the books wet while mopping, and been yelled at for it…  
Abraham inspected the room, nodding at the vampire's work and smiling. "Good boy. You've done well. Count the bowl of strawberries you stole off my plate as your reward. Come, you'll be sleeping up here tonight," Abraham gestured for the vampire to follow and led him to one of the servant's rooms, this one near to his own room.  
Alucard smiled, stepping inside and looking around then frowning. He turned to Abraham, pulling at the bandage on his back as it rubbed his wounds.  
"Master…. my…the coffin?" he asked hopefully. Abraham frowned, reaching out to wrap his hand around Alucard's throat, pushing the wincing creature to it's knees.  
"You nearly killed one of my employees last night, you defied me on multiple occasions today, and you did not ask correctly. No, sleep under the bed or in a drawer if you wish something enclosed, but you will not have that privilege until you earn it!" He pushed the creature up and back, throwing Alucard to the floor near the bed.  
Alucard whimpered, feeling along his throat with the tips of his fingers, and feeling the sticky wet of more of his precious blood leaking into the cloth. He didn't look up at Abraham or answer him, sitting where he had been thrown, shaking.  
"Don't leave the room unless I call for you, or come get you myself. If someone comes in accidentally, do not attack, harm, drink, or kill. Find a loophole, and I'll beat you until you pass out," Abraham snarled, turning and leaving the room, making sure to lock it behind him.  
Alucard looked up after Abraham had left, growling under his breath but climbing into the bed, thankful the blankets were thick. He took his own coverage blanket, and folded it over a chair, then buried himself under the sheets of the bed.  
Night found both master and slave in fits, unable to sleep. Alucard was a beast of the night, and shook with want of sleep, having not had any for two days and a night, though his internal clock said it was time to be up, thus keeping him awake.  
Abraham rested in his own room, the master bedroom down the hall from his pet's room. He shook, replaying the beatings and even adding in details he had not preformed upon the vampire. Helsing licked his lips, grinning at the images and purring to himself at the euphoric feeling they created.  
He hoped his new special suit for the vampire would be completed tomorrow. Abraham had taken great pains in designing it perfectly. He had also chartered a special silver threaded whip to be made, and expected it with the suit upon the afternoon. This new slave of his brought so many possibilities to his life, as well as being the foundation to an even bigger idea. A family legacy, and Alucard would be the base of it all. With a few….enhancements of course.

Chapter 5: Pleasure And Pain

Abraham threw open the shades of his room, sighing at the warmth of the sunlight. It had been days, weeks since he felt the warmth of sunlight for any period of time. He would have to find a way to get his vampire immune to the sunlight. So far, most of his experiments regarding such with the other specimens were failures. Though, having a specimen such as Alucard would prove different. He was much more powerful than the fledglings and street slime that Abraham normally used.  
With this thought in mind, Abraham donned his coat and headed for Alucard's room. Abraham blinked in the dark room, frowning and moving across the room to pull down the blanket that had been thrown over the window, letting in at least a bit of light.  
"Wake up Alucard," he growled, frowning down at the lump in the bed and reaching down the throw back the blankets.  
The amount of blood surprised him. Alucard lay curled up in the center of the bed, the bandages and surrounding sheets stained deep red from blood. He leaned over the vampire, slowly uncurling him, and taking special care to not to wake him. Vampires could be quite…excitable when woken, often lashing out at the nearest thing to them without thinking. He had seen many a caretaker go down under the claws of a vampire disturbed from it's rest.  
Abraham gripped the vampire's wrists, shaking him slightly. "Wake up," he hissed, tightening his hold on the creature's wrists. Alucard didn't stir from his day slumber, even as he bled dry. Abraham growled, and began dragging the vampire's body from the bed, hoping the shock of hitting the floor would wake it up.  
The jolt from the floor shook Alucard from his sleep, and he snarled, eyes snapping open with fury as he looked up at Abraham, not recognizing who he was. He struggled for a moment, though was little mach for the human in his bloodless weakened state. He lay back, panting and looked back up at Helsing with dulled eyes.  
"Master," he rasped, finally waking fully out of his sleep. Abraham frowned down at the creature, letting go of his wrists and taking hold of one arm to begin unwrapping the blood soaked bandage.  
"You should learn to sleep at night and function during the day for now, Slave." He peeled the bandage back from the vampire's arm and frowned at the injury as it continued to ooze blood. Alucard didn't move, his dull eyes locked on Abraham. The room was lit faintly by the sun, and he realized the blanket he had thrown over the window had been removed.  
Alucard tugged back on his arm, his instincts screaming at him for being so near an extreme threat as injured as he was. Abraham growled, tightening his grip on the vampire's wrist and reaching out with a free hand to grip Alucard's chin.  
"Don't resist me," he growled in warning, then pulled Alucard to his feet and set him on the edge of the bed. "It seems I'm going to have to take different steps to heal you. Do not move from this spot."  
Abraham didn't wait for Alucard to answer, turning and leaving quickly, shutting the door behind him. The vampire shuddered, looking down to his exposed wound and beginning to lick at it, cleaning the blood from over his arm. The door opened to a humming tune, and Alucard looked up to see a maid enter and stop, staring at him with wide eyes.  
She gasped, and shut the door quickly. Alucard chuckled lightly, listening to her quick steps and even quicker heartbeat rush down the hall. Abraham entered a short time later, followed by four men. Three were pulling in a rather rough looking man, a sailor perhaps. Alucard twitched, smelling a meal in the air, but didn't move, his eyes flicking to Abraham  
His master looked down at him, arms crossed. "As I said before, my ventures are funded by the crown. With the amount of subjects I keep here, I need to have a food source for them. The King has provided me with the scum from the Tower. Due to your injuries, you may feed from this man-"  
Abraham wasn't able to finish after these words passed his lips. Alucard snarled, lunging for the prisoner and wrapped his arms around the human's torso, sinking his fangs deep into the thick, muscled throat. The caretakers cursed, jumping back and watching the two of them fall to the floor, the human fighting the vampire until his struggles became sluggish and stopped.  
Helsing growled, a bit irritated that he wasn't able to finish, but stood over the feeding vampire, a slight smirk growing up the side of his face. It was nice to see the criminal that had cursed him so vigorously become food for his slave.  
Alucard drained the man dry, still trying to coax blood from the wound after the body had no more to give. Abraham crouched, reaching out to grip Alucard's shoulder and pull him off the corpse. The caretakers picked up the dead man, taking him to the dungeons to be incinerated before turning into a ghoul.  
Without another word, Abraham took a small dagger, cutting free the bloodied bandages and smiling approvingly to see the wounds completely healed. Alucard stayed still, crouched on the floor and licking blood from his lips and teeth, purring at the taste of fresh, warm human blood. He was exhausted from lack of sleep for four days and nights, and stared at the floor vacantly, almost feeling as he would fall asleep again where he sat.  
A man leaned into the room, eyes widening at the sight of the vampire, but looking to Abraham. "Um. Dr. Helsing, there is an envoy here to see you. From the king." Abraham smiled, chuckling and nodding. "Good good," he purred, waving the man away and looking down to his vampire.  
Finally, things were in motion. He frowned when Alucard collapsed over the floor, and leaned down to pick the creature up. Abraham looked to the messenger and nodded. "Tell them to wait in my office, I will be there within a moment. Also, have a maid change the sheets here."  
The man nodded and rushed off as Abraham left the room, entering his own and dumping the half aware vampire on his bed. He moved quickly over to the curtains, closing them to keep Alucard in the shadows.  
"You may have three hours of sleep," he hissed, and then left for his office. Alucard didn't move, stunned by the sudden power of the scent around him. Everything around him smelled strongly of Abraham. The seal thrummed slightly, and he purred, rolling to his stomach and burying his face in a pillow, inhaling the sent. Alucard shuddered, burying himself in the blankets and wrapping himself in his master's sent. He felt the strange loyalty and affection, and knew the seal was at work again, but it didn't change the fact that he still felt it.  
Alucard was soon asleep, hiding under the blankets from the sunlight beginning to come through the window as the sun rose over the trees. As promised, Abraham returned three hours later, waking his vampire with the seal. Alucard's eyes snapped open and he gasped, sitting up and nearly falling from the bed as he did so.  
"Get up. Time for today's training, Slave," Abraham hissed from across the room. The human approached him, holding up what appeared to be a choke collar and long chain leash.  
"Today, you are going to learn about the seal." Abraham slipped the choke chain over his head and around his throat, latching the leash to the loop and tugging so the collar tightened with the tension. "Come."  
Alucard slid off the bed following behind Abraham. He detested being led around on a leash, treated like some kind of animal, but he did not dare bring this to Abraham's attention.  
They entered a large office, the curtains open wide and allowing the bright sunlight to light the room. Alucard snarled, jerking to the side and trying to hide in Abraham's shadow. It burned his eyes and flesh, as he had still not been given any clothing. The collar tightened around his throat when he jerked back trying to get out of the room. Abraham growled, snatching Alucard into the room after him and shutting the door.  
Alucard snarled, dropping to the floor in hopes of getting as much of his form into any shadow he could find as the sunlight began to burn his flesh, searing him. Abraham sighed, dropping the leash and moving to the window to pull the curtains shut so that several lanterns and the main fire only lighted the room.  
"We are going to work on that problem very soon," he commented, standing over Alucard with his arms crossed. Alucard whined, again glad for the fresh blood that easily healed sunlight burns.  
"Today, you are going to learn about the seal, and how I control you with it. I hope this will help rid you of your foolish hope," the human hissed, leaning down to pick up the end of the leash and move to his chair. Once sitting, he hooked the end of the leash over the back of his chair and smiled at Alucard.  
"When I put you somewhere, I expect you to stay there. The seal reinforces this. For the next two hours, I want you to try your best to get out of this room. Don't try, and I bring the seal's pain to you and leave you with it the rest of the day," he explained smugly, his expression brightening as he watched Alucard's face fall.  
"Begin," he ordered, gesturing to the door as he looked down to his desk to being reading over reports and working on paperwork.  
Alucard continued to stare at Abraham, then looked to the door, walking toward it. The seal pressed down on him, driving him to his knees when he put tension on the chain. Whimpering, he scooted back, looking back at Abraham, who appeared to be ignoring him, and then to the chain over the back of his chair. The vampire stood, reaching out for the chain then snatching his hand back when the seal thrummed over him.  
He continued to try different ways, even hoping to trick the seal and backing up to the back of Abraham's chair and turning to grab the chain, only screaming when he nearly lifted it and huddled on the floor in pain.  
Abraham looked over his shoulder, eyes narrowed when the vampire didn't move, and slammed down on the seal. Alucard screamed again, sitting up and backing up against the chair, unable to understand what he did until he looked back at Abraham and whimpered. Alucard stood, moving around the chair and trying to jerk his head enough to tug the chain off, to no avail and was only rewarded with sharp jabs of pain from the seal.  
At the end of an hour, his throat was sore from the constant tightening of the choke collar, and he feared to move near the chain, or even put tension on it. Though, he feared inciting Abraham's wrath if he did not do as ordered. Abraham stood and Alucard franticly tried to think of a different way to move the chain, getting nowhere and scooting back behind the chair when the human frowned down at him.  
"Keep moving," Abraham ordered, then turned and left the room.  
Alucard blinked, shivering and moving around the chair more now that his master no longer sat in it. He tried gripping the thick wood and dragging it across the room, though that worked for a moment, the seal slammed into him, taking him to his knees in screaming agony until he pushed the chair back to it's original position.  
Leaning against the chair and panting, a new thought occurred to him. Standing and backing up facing the chair, Alucard let out a low snarl and lunged, slamming his weight into the side of the wood and knocking the chair to the floor before the seal could stop him.  
Alucard grinned, celebrating his victory for only a moment before lunging for the door. The seal slammed into a second later, taking him to the floor with a new level. He screamed, clawing his way across the floor and only reaching a few feet, for every inch he moved the seal heightened his agony.  
No longer able to think, Alucard convulsed on the floor, screaming in his torment and unable to tell where he was. He didn't know how long he lay there, just that suddenly he realized Abraham standing over him and then the pain was gone.  
Alucard didn't move, laying on the floor then dragging himself to his hands and knees and vomiting blood. He heard Abraham's footsteps tapping across the floor to him. The vampire collapsed to his side, looking up at Abraham and panting heavily.  
"I believe you know now, truly know you cannot escape, so I'll end the two hours now," he chuckled, grinning down at Alucard smugly. The vampire struggled, sitting up finally and looking to the chair. Abraham had righted it and replaced the chain; he hadn't even crawled away enough to put tension on it.  
Alucard groaned, wrapping his arms around his middle and trembling. "Good boy. This only occurs when you are leashed. If you are not and I tell you to stay somewhere, the same thing will happen," Abraham pointed out, grinning down at his slave.  
"Now, to teach you what else the seal can do." Abraham backed up, taking the leash from the chair and tugging up to get the vampire to stand. "Up." He reached out, taking the vampire's chin in his hand and staring into the red eyes. "I control your pain, pleasure, and movement. You have learned about movement. I can keep you anywhere, and I can lock off places to you. I believe you understand this part."  
Alucard trembled, averting his eyes to the side, not wanting to look into Abraham's cruel crystal blue orbs. He had no wish to learn about what Abraham could do to him. It was already quite apparent to the vampire that Abraham could do anything he wished to him.  
With a chuckle, Abraham backed up, unlatching the leash but leaving the choke chain on. "Come," he hissed, turning and throwing the curtains back, opening the window doors to step out onto a grand balcony. Alucard screeched in the sudden blast of sunlight, lunging behind the desk to hide.  
"I said COME," Abraham snarled, grinning and leaning against the railing to watch. He slammed down on the seal, twisting it into the creature. Alucard screamed, thrashing on the floor, blood tears began to run in thin trails from his face. He dragged himself from behind the desk, fighting the sunlight and whimpering at the seal's threatening pulsing. The vampire's flesh sizzled and burned in the unrestricted sunlight.  
He collapsed at Abraham's feet, burning in the light, and screaming, writhing as his flesh cooked. Abraham purred silently, kneeling down to grab the vampire's choke chain and drag the smoking form across the floor and back into his room, shutting the balcony door and drawing the curtains closed. The vampire's form continued to smolder, his flesh blackened and peeled from the exposure.  
"You cannot disobey me in ANYTHING. I control you, your pain, movements…and pleasure," Abraham cooed, kneeling over the vampire and running his hand over the creature's hair. Alucard healed quickly, his flesh growing back and repairing itself in moments.  
Abraham stood, backing up as the vampire sat up, shivering. The Helsing grinned, instead of slamming down on the seals; he tugged at them mentally, pushing them up. Alucard's eyes widened and he gasped, falling on his back and twitching, his eyes smoldering with lust. He looked over at Abraham, rolling to his hands and knees to crawl toward the mortal, panting in a provocative manor and reaching up, gripping Abraham's clothing to pull himself to his feet.  
He began rubbing himself against Abraham, panting heavily, desperately. Abraham didn't move, laughing darkly, not letting up on the seal. Alucard whined, not even realizing what he was doing. His claws desperately tore at Abraham's clothing as he panted heavier, pressing his naked body against his master.  
"Please, Master," he begged airily, pushing his face under the human's jaw, nipping at the sensitive flesh. "Down boy," Abraham purred, rather pleased with the effects the pleasure part of the seal had on the vampire. He slammed down on the seal, sneering with the vampire's eyes went wide and he screamed, going from one extreme to another and curling up at Abraham's feet trembling.  
Abraham turned from the creature, sitting back at his desk to lean forward and leaned on his elbows, resting his head on his curled up fingers. He watched the vampire stagger to it's feet, shivering from terror and humiliation as he realized what Abraham had just done to him.  
"I'll see you dead," Alucard snarled weakly, nearly falling to the ground again from his weakness. "No doubt," Abraham replied coolly. "You shall be the slave of every Helsing family head until the end."  
A knock came at the door, and Abraham sat up slightly, calling for them to come in. A butler entered, staring at the naked vampire huddling in the corner, but shaking himself from the shock and bringing in a fair sized box.  
"This just arrived for you Doctor." He sat the box in a chair, not even waiting for Abraham's dismissal before he turned and hurried from the room. Abraham stood, chuckling lightly at the man's actions as he opened the box, grinning.  
"Ahh, I expected these to arrive today," he purred, pulling a long whip from the box. Alucard's eyes widened when he saw the lash glitter with silver. The handle was a beautiful ivory, carved to appear like a long fang, the tip blunted and capped with silver carved in a swirling design.  
"Beautiful isn't it," Abraham grinned, stroking the handle and looking at Alucard with shining, half closed eyes. He grinned, suddenly throwing his arm out and flicking his wrist so the whip snapped loudly, startling the vampire.  
Alucard backed up quickly and huddled in the shadows of a corner far from Abraham. Helsing laughed, rolling the whip up and setting it carefully on his desk, looking back to the box for the next item.  
He pulled out a strange looking leather outfit made of buckles and belts. "Come here," Abraham commanded, looking over the suit and not paying attention to the vampire. Alucard approached slowly, looking at the strange leather suit in curiosity. Abraham turned then, frowning and nabbing the choke chain around Alucard's throat and pulling him closer.  
"I promised you clothing, and here it is," he purred into Alucard's ear, shoving the strange clothing into his arms. "Put it on."  
Alucard backed up quickly when he was released, looking over the leather suit curiously. With some difficulty, he figured out how to slip it on, rather glad for the coverage at last, but hateful as he realized exactly what it allowed Abraham to do.  
The belts and buckles covered the entire suit. There wasn't even much of a suit. The belts could be undone to expose any part of his body. Abraham stepped up, moving around the vampire and chuckling. He tightened the belts, making Alucard hiss as the leather tightened around every part of his body, clinging like a second skin. He shifted about uncomfortably, the leather new and stiff.  
Abraham smiled, pulling the choke collar off to belt the collar of the suit around Alucard's neck. Alucard growled, twisting his head at the uncomfortable feeling. Abraham backhanded the vampire across the face, eyes flashing.  
"Hush, and stand still!" he snarled, keeping his grip around Alucard's throat and shaking him sharply. Alucard winced, keeping quiet but squirming slightly in the suit.  
Once he had the suit on Alucard, Abraham backed up and smiled, noting the small rings on the wrists and ankles for chain attachment. It had taken several long nights to design the suit to perfection, and now to see his slave donned in the restraint suit brought waves of accomplishment and pleasure.  
"Now for a test." Abraham backed up, picking up the whip and snapping it in the air to the left of the vampire. Alucard flinched, jumping to the side and watching Abraham with wide eyes. "Lets see how well my new toy works on you. Put your hands on the wall and do not move." He wanted Alucard to taste the whip, hoping it would discourage bad behavior in the future.  
Alucard began to shake, backing up a step, eyes wide. "Do not disobey me," Abraham snarled, fury growing in his eyes. "Do as I told you!" The vampire shook his head, backing up another step, his bare feet making no sound on the tile floor. Abraham seemed to snap, slamming down on the seals with punishing force. Alucard screamed, dropping to the ground. Abraham slammed the lash down on his back, and then took a step back, grinning.  
The restraint suit acted as armor as well, protecting the vampire from light attacks. His pet would be a killer, and needed some form of light armor. Alucard gasped, rolling to his feet and backing into the wall quickly, eyes wide. His back stung, but the silver had not seared his flesh as it normally would.  
Abraham took only a few long steps before he was in the vampire's face, turning him around and slamming him face first into the wall. "Stay," he growled, pushing the vampire into the wall then backing up and unlocking several of the buckles to expose the creature's back. "Do not move," Abraham growled again, sending a warning pulse down the seal.  
Backing up several steps behind the vampire, Abraham ran his fingers through the lash, arching back and cracking the silver whip over the vampire's back. Alucard screamed, feeling blood run from the wound. Abraham's cool laughter flooded over him. Again the bite of the silver whip bit into his back, leaving another searing line of agony over his flesh. The vampire screamed anew, making to flee but the seal dropped him.  
Abraham clicked his tongue, stepping up to the fallen and thrashing beast. Reaching down, he grabbed hold of one of the belts, pulling Alucard to his feet and pressing him against the wall again.  
"When I put you somewhere, you are to stay there," Abraham growled again. "Five lashes for disobeying me." Alucard shook, desperately wanting to get away from the wicked bite of the silver whip. The wounds on his back burned horribly, the silver having bit deep into his muscle.  
His throat choked in fear, and he rested his palms against the wall, trembling. "Mas…ter….. Please…." Abraham grinned, licking his lips and stepping behind the vampire. "Please, what, Slave?" Alucard squeezed his eyes shut, swallowing.  
"I won't disobey…."  
Abraham tilted his head back, chuckling darkly. "It doesn't matter if you disobey or not. I'll do what I want to you." He grinned, watching the vampire tense and the silver lash marks sluggishly heal.  
"Lick my boot and I'll spare the lashes," Abraham purred into Alucard's ear. The vampire shook, more from fury than fear. His eyes glowed bright red behind his lids, and his long claws dug into the wall.  
"I will not, human scum! I could tear you apart if it weren't for this black magic that such a man of God as yourself has used against me!" Tearing bits of stone from the wall, and leaving deep gashes in the stone, Alucard whirled around to face Abraham, a mouth full of saber teeth bared at him.  
For a split second, both master and slave glared at each other. Both with looks of pure fury etched onto their faces.  
"Very well, Slave. It seems we shall have to kick your training up a notch. So easily do you forget? I. Control. You." Abraham bit the words out harshly, his voice thick with anger. He dropped the whip, letting the seals slam into Alucard hard enough to knock the beast out.  
OoOoO  
Alucard groaned, waking slowly from the cloud of pain. He could see two brown boots standing in front of him, and groaned again, curling into himself. The vampire was a bit surprised to find himself unclothed again, but made no comment, not liking the option of the restraint suit either.  
"He's awake. Let's go," A voice said somewhere above him. Rough hands grabbed him, dragging him into bright searing sunlight. Alucard screeched, thrashing at the hands that held him, but they were unrelenting, shoving him into a small barred cage where he thrashed furiously, trying to break the bars. They must have been plated silver, for he had no luck.  
Abraham stood back, nodding to the three men who had helped him and watched the vampire cook in the light. It had been his plan from the beginning, to expose the creature to sunlight periodically, hoping for him to become immune to it, but it also worked as a lovely punishment.  
The Helsing turned his back on the screaming vampire, sitting nearby on a wooden bench to lean his head back and enjoy the light of the day. There were few clouds in the sky, one threatening to move in front of the sun, but not big enough to last long.  
The gardens were beautiful this time of day, even in the cold winter months. Christmas was only two weeks away, and he had always hosted a huge party. Planning should begin soon. Abraham looked over to the cage, smiling as the vampire thrashed around in the cramped space, his flesh peeling and cooking in the light.  
The cage had been installed into the gardens when he began the experiments, using it as termination for the subjects who killed caretakers. Those creatures were examples for others. Abraham shifted on the bench, looking to the winter blossoms and smiled faintly, shuddering at the vampire's screams in the background. Perhaps the creature would think twice before it spoke so disrespectfully to him again.  
Shadows darkened around him as the cloud moved in front of the sun, blocking the rays for the moment. Alucard's screams faded, but the vampire still fought to escape the cage. A cawing above him made Abraham looked up, and he noticed several crows had gathered. They did this every time he terminated a vampire in the cage. The scavengers would gather and pick the demon's bones clean after it died.  
It cawed again, opening it's wings to descend upon the struggling vampire. The crow pecked through the bars at the charred flesh, making Alucard flinch and try to swipe the bird through the bars. The bird beat it's wings, landing to another side of the cage and pecking the vampire, taking a sizable piece of meat from him. Alucard snarled, thrashing to get at the bird again.  
The rest of the flock descended, upon the caged vampire, pecking at him as the cloud moved away and the rays of sunlight began cooking him again. Abraham sat on his bench, amused at the sight and chuckling.  
When the sun had moved a significant amount in the sky, and Alucard's screams had become horse, and cracked, Abraham stood, shooing what was left of the birds away and looking down at the mess of twitching roasted gore that was Alucard.  
"Prepared to obey me now?" He thought he heard a whimper from the vampire, and chuckled, crouching to open the cage, looping the choke chain around Alucard's neck and attaching a chain, dragging Alucard across the garden path. He continued to cry out at the sun's burn, and struggled to stand to make get into the shadows, not having much luck. Once inside, Alucard no longer struggled to stand or move, laying on the floor and panting to let his frantic system heal his flesh without it cooking off again.  
Abraham stopped, letting the vampire heal himself, and crouched down to ruffle his hair. "Tomorrow night, you are going to help me repopulate the cells below. We've gotten low on our subjects. I've gotten reports of a vampire nest in London, and you are going to help catch them." Alucard groaned, reaching out to grip Abraham's coat and pull himself closer, terrified of the man, but his mind had been disrupted with so much pain for so long. The seals pushed forward their influence, making him want to crawl into the man's lap and weep in his misery.  
Abraham blinked, but wrapped a hand around Alucard's shoulder and pulled him up as he stood. "Come boy. You will sleep in my room tonight. Guests are paying us a visit this evening to stay the night and I don't want anyone walking in on you."  
He led the vampire, half supporting him as Alucard leaned heavily on him, gripping the back of his coat in deadly claws. Abraham let the vampire lean against him, grinning and chuckling. Entering his room, he led his pet to a corner, hooking the end of the chain around a coat hanger, allowing the creature to lie down without pulling it loose.  
"Sleep now. You'll be fed before we go out to hunt tomorrow night." Abraham opened a closet, pulling out several pillows and a blanket, throwing them at Alucard and leaving without another word or glance.  
Alucard whimpered, closing his eyes and swallowing to keep vampire tears from leaking out. This man had brought him so low, now he was to hunt down his own kind to subject them to the horrors of the vampiric hell below. His flesh still sung from the after burn of being exposed to the sunlight for so long, and the cool floor felt wonderful to his hot skin. Taking the pillows and making a small nest, throwing the blanket over him, Alucard trembled and closed his eyes, letting exhaustion take him.  
OoOoO  
Abraham locked his room door, heading for his office where he checked on the progress of the maids cleaning the evidence of the earlier fun. He smiled to see the floor and wall were all shining clean, and a new picture adorned the wall where his pet's claws had torn into the stone.  
He sat at his desk, looking over new dissection reports, these making studies of the different organs a vampire has from a human. The creatures' stomachs were bigger, and made like an African vampire bat's; elastic qualities, which explained the almost constant and powerful hunger. There were also strange other organs, probably helping the ingestion of blood and the introduction of blood into the blood stream. It would take much more study, and to do that he would need more subjects.  
A knock at his door pulled him from the reports and he looked up, calling for them to come in. A butler opened the door, admitting his old friend, Joshua followed by his wife and three children.

Chapter 6: Hide And Seek

"Abraham, my old friend! Good to see you!" Joshua stepped forward, meeting Abraham as he came around his desk and embracing him. His wife stood with her children behind her, two boys and a girl.  
"Good to see you Joshua! I suppose you dropped by to check on your subject?"  
"We were passing through. Sorry about the short notice. And yes, I wanted to see how my subject was doing."  
Abraham led them to a sitting room, letting the evening light in through the windows as he chatted with his friend, a fellow doctor, about several of the experiments. Joshua's wife, who never approved of these things, scurried to the kitchen to talk with one of her friends, a maid who handled the menu's for Abraham's dinners. The children, the oldest a boy at 14 named Blake, the second youngest boy at 11 named Justin, and the young girl at 9 named Shuanna, ran off to explore the manor.  
Abraham looked over his shoulder as they ran off, frowning. "Joshua… you know I don't like that kid, Blake. I Believe I did ask you not to bring him back after the incident in the dungeon's last year when he let all my subjects loose…"  
Joshua blinked, laughing brokenly. "Yes, I am very sorry about that. But he's much more well behaved now!"  
Blake stopped outside Abraham's office, grinning from ear to ear and turning to his siblings. "Father said Dr. Helsing has vampires in his house. How about we go vampire hunting?"  
Justin, always the younger version of his brother, grinned as well, nodding vigorously. "Yeh! I wanna grow up to be a vampire hunter too!" Blake shushed him, looking around and ignoring Shuanna's mumbles about this being a bad idea. They slipped into Abraham's office, and Blake sifted through his desk, finding the sought after ring of keys.  
"Here we go! I bet they are hidden all over the house!" Shuanna shook her head, looking over her shoulder at the doorway. "But..aren't vampires evil? Daddy said we shouldn't be snooping around anyway!"  
Blake stood over her, hands on his hips and glaring down at her. "If you go tell, I'll tell about the time you snuck out of the house to let dad's fish go in the pond," he hissed threateningly. Shuanna shook her head vigorously, blinking back tears.  
"Fine! I won't tell! But I hope a vampire eats you!" she whined. Blake and Justin exchanged victorious looks, and then slipped out of the office to explore the house.  
OoOoO  
Abraham led Joshua deep into the dungeons where the long-term experiment subjects were held. The two old friends continued to chat about ongoing experiments and future ideas. Abraham stopped in front of the cell door to Joshua's subject, a study on fledgling mental ability, and reached into his coat for his keys. He blinked, laughing as he remembers he had left them in his desk.  
"Sorry, the excitement from your appearance has made me forget my keys. Care to continue a walk to my office then back down? What is your theory on vampiric coven nature?"  
Again they struck up an argument, laughing and exchanging ideas. Abraham opened the door to his office, rummaging in his desk, his frown deepening. He was sure he had left his keys here…  
"Joshua…where are your children?"  
OoOoO  
Two hours later had the three children running through the manor, barely escaping being captured by Abraham, their father, or a random butler or maid. Justin clutched the ring of keys in his hand, rather sad they had not found any vampires, but feeling his heart thrumming from the chase.  
"It's like we are the vampires being chased!" he squeaked up at his brother, and handed over the keys. "Yeh, but if we get caught it's going to be really bad… Dad looked furious when he tripped."  
The three children exchanged doomed glances, and then were struck with a giggling fit upon hearing yelling from down the hall. "Quick! Any door! We got to hide!" Blake rushed ahead of his siblings, skidding to a stop in front of the first door he came to, trying the handle and finding it locked.  
"Open it!" Shuanna yelled in fright.  
OoOoO  
Alucard groaned, peeking out from under the cover at the sound of squeaky voices outside the door, and blinked as three children burst into the room and slammed the door to lock it quickly.  
A low growl escaped his throat and three pairs of wide eyes gazed at him. The vampire sat up, keeping she blanket wrapped about him, but making sure his claws and fangs were in full view. Loud voices called through the thick wood of the door, but none of the children made a move to unlock it, entranced by the vampire.  
"Blake…. I think we found a vampire," Justin whispered. Blake stepped forward slowly, eyeing the choke chain and leash leading to the coat hanger on the wall. "He's… a pet?" Alucard growled deeper, moving forward slightly, threatening the child by opening his mouth, letting his fangs get clearance.  
Shuanna squished herself against the door, trembling at the sight of death. Justin followed behind Blake, looking at the snarling vampire with frightened eyes.  
They all seemed to ignore the yells and poundings from the door. Blake looked again to the leash, and then grinned.  
"He can't hurt us," the boy stated, sure of himself. He looked around and picked a book up from a nearby shelf, throwing it with all his might at Alucard. The vampire snarled, ducking to the side to avoid the projectile, and slashed at the air in the human's direction.  
"See? He can't move far! He's on a leash!" Blake laughed, taking a paperweight from the dresser and heaving it at Alucard. Justin giggled, gleeful at this new form of entertainment, and mimicked his brother, nabbing objects around the room to throw at the enraged beast.  
Alucard roared in fury, but tried to retreat into a corner, slashing at the items flying through the air at him. Being exhausted and hungry didn't help his mood, but he knew he couldn't hurt them, let alone move beyond where the chain reached, Abraham had made sure of that.  
The loud voices behind the door became more insistent, and Shuanna turned, whimpering, to unlock the door, admitting a very furious Abraham with Joshua following behind. Alucard turned, looking to Abraham with pleading eyes only to have a cross bookend to connect with the side of his head. The vampire screeched, tearing the cross to splinters under his claws, glaring hatefully at Blake.  
Abraham wrapped his arm around the boy, dragging him to the bed in a fury and sitting down with Blake over his knees, spanking him harshly. "How dare you steal my keys? Do you know what you were even doing? Provoking something you know nothing about! That is weeks of hard work you are throwing my property at!" Joshua nabbed Justin, spanking him likewise in a nearby chair.  
Once Abraham's anger had run it's course, and the boy was bawling over his knees, he stood, setting Blake to his feet to walk over to the still enraged Alucard to check him over for injuries. Abraham forgave the vampire's snarling, assuming them to be at Blake and not him. Finding nothing other than the starvation of the past few weeks, and faint marks from the whip of earlier that day.  
"You're lucky boy. If you had marked him I would have taken a paddle to you as well!" By this time, Justin had joined his brother, and Shuanna stayed by the door, huddling against it.  
"What's this Abraham? Taken to bringing the subjects to your bed?" he teased the man, earning a glare from both Abraham and Alucard. "No, Joshua, I'll tell you about him later. For now, please take your children to the sitting room."  
Joshua chuckled, then turned to the three terrorized looking siblings and herding them out of the room, shutting the door behind them. Abraham looked down at Alucard, frowning at the shredded bookend. "That was my favorite," he sighed, but couldn't really blame Alucard for it. He unhooked the vampire's leash, slipping the choke chain from around his neck and opened the closet to retrieve the restraint suit.  
"Get dressed," he ordered, crossing his arms as he watched Alucard crawl out from under the cover, and slip into the leather suit, not even hiding his hatred of the thing. Abraham nodded, moving around Alucard to tighten the belts, making sure Alucard was securely in the suit and nabbing a belt around his throat, pulling him into the hallway.  
Alucard hissed, wanting to go back into the room to sleep, but Abraham shook him slightly, glaring over his shoulder. "You are going to watch those kids the rest of their stay. They will be leaving tomorrow afternoon, though you will only watch them tonight. Don't worry, dinner is in a few hours," he ordered over his shoulder and shoved the vampire into the sitting room, much to the surprise of Joshua and his children.  
Abraham smiled at Joshua, patting Alucard's shoulder. "Don't worry, he's completely harmless unless I specifically order him to attack. He looked to the children and frowned. "Go play somewhere else, and don't get into trouble, Alucard will be with you." Alucard hissed under his breath, glaring at the children.  
"Go," Abraham ordered, making sure to take his keys back and push the four of them out the door before starting a chat with Joshua again as they headed off for the dungeons.  
Alucard fumed, slinking back to lean against the wall and glare at the children as if they were the source of all his misery for the past month. Blake glared back at the vampire as well, having seen him as the reason for getting spanked at Abraham's hands.  
"Why don't we play hide and seek," Shuanna piped up. "We can hide and uhh…." She looked at the vampire, eyebrow's drawn together.  
"Alucard," he mumbled, shifting uncomfortably in the suit. Shuanna nodded vigorously. "Yeh, and Al'card can seek!"  
Alucard twitched at the mispronunciation of his name and sighed. "I'll just watch…" Blake snorted, used to his sister's sudden urge to play random games. "No, Mr. Al'card you need to play too. Come on guys, let's hide."  
The children took this as a signal to run in separate directions, laughing madly. Alucard didn't move, growling lowly and straightening, going after the girl. Perhaps if he caught her, he could dump her off with her mother.  
They would soon learn, playing hide and seek with a vampire is pointless. Alucard walked into a room, another waiting room it appeared with several lush couches and chairs and a fire roaring in the fireplace. The vampire tilted his head back and sniffed the air, laughing.  
"Got you little one," he purred, walking to a couch and leaning over it to nab the squealing Shuanna by the back of her dress and lift her into the air. "Now, let's drop you off with your mother, shall we?"  
He carried her under his arm, following a strange sent into the kitchen and walking up behind the woman. She sat in a chair, chatting with her friend, but stopped when her friend's eyes went wide. Frowning, she turned around and blinked, eyes going wide at the sight of a very ticked vampire standing behind her holding her daughter.  
"This belongs to you. Be sure you keep up with it in the future," he hissed, dumping Shuanna into the woman's lap and whirling around to go after the other two before they did something that would be blamed on him.  
As he moved through the manor following their scents, he explored the rooms and house. It was his first time loose to wonder and he rather enjoyed the place. Every room was lushly furnished, and very comfortable but simple looking. Abraham must lead two lives. Much like this house, on the surface it was homely, sweet smelling, comfortable. But under the surface it was dark, sadistic, evil, and full of torment.  
Justin was easy to find, he smelled strongly of a dog. Perhaps the boy had one at his home. He scooped Justin up from the closet and sighed. Blake had a distinct sent as well, the boy fancied himself old enough to wear cologne.  
"Come on," Alucard hissed, tugging the boy after him as he moved through the manor, finding a set of stairs and creeping up them. The attic bought entirely new wonders in itself. He let Justin go, letting the boy run through the attic and play with random things.  
Alucard found Blake, though kicked the trunk over instead of opening it to get the boy out. The vampire chuckled at the curses that sprung from the trunk and soon after an angry Blake followed, making for the vampire and shoving him in the back that had all the effect of shoving a mountain.  
"Jerk!" Alucard laughed, looking over his shoulder to flash white fangs. "Perhaps, but I did enjoy that. Put yourself into another similar position, and I'll do the same."  
Alucard sidestepped another shove, watching Blake fall face first into the floor. Alucard rolled his eyes, stepping around the cursing boy to explore the attic. Justin had been vigorously looking through a window, grinning.  
"I can see our carriage! And some people down there! They look like ants!" The vampire blinked, smiling and moving to crouch behind the boy, looking through the window.  
"I'm sure the view is much better when it's open," he purred, hating the smudged glass to be restricting his vision. With a bit of working with the latch, Alucard opened the window, purring at the fresh air. It was nice to fill his lungs with the cool fresh winds.  
Justin leaned out the window, grinning down. "Wow!" Blake worked his way over, shoving his brother out of the way and into the vampire. "Move! I want to see!"  
Alucard growled under his breath, pushing Justin back and promptly shoving Blake out of the window when he leaned out. The vampire blinked, expecting the seal to stop him, though the boy's scream as he fell proved otherwise. Alucard and Justin sat by the window, looking down as they watched Blake hit several outcroppings of roof then land atop one of the spectators below.  
For a few seconds they all stood stunned, then the pandemonium started. Someone screamed, and Justin echoed the same scream in Alucard's ear, making him wince. The boy ran down the stairs to his brother's aid, and Alucard stood, grinning when he saw Blake thrashing. So he had survived.  
It was then that Alucard realized Abraham would probably not take the news so well. Shuddering, the vampire decided to stay in the attic, out of the way of everything.  
OoOoO  
Abraham stepped from the room, sighing and nodding at Joshua. "He's got a broken leg, broken arm, both the ulna and the radius, and three broken ribs. I'm truly sorry, Joshua….I had thought he wouldn't attack…." Abraham sighed, delivering the report to a very angry Joshua.  
"I want that thing to PAY Abraham!" Abraham nodded, running a hand through his hair. "He shall, believe me."  
He looked to Joshua's wife and two other children, all of who were in tears. Such irresponsible parenting. They shouldn't have even let the children run around! Though, It was probably a foolish thing for him to trust his vampire enough to leave them all alone. Underneath the guise, Abraham was rather thankful the vampire had attacked that particular boy. He deserved it. The vampire was justified in his dislike and actions, from the scene earlier. Though it was a bit irritating that the seal had not stopped the vampire. Abraham mentally wove the strands of the seal to end that act of violence and sighed, viewing the whole ordeal as a learning experience that would not happen again.  
Abraham left pain pills for the boy, instructing Joshua to give Blake three every six hours, then left for his office, sending a mental summons to his slave. Alucard blinked, looking up from his rummaging around the attic.  
"Alucard. Come."  
The vampire shuddered, realizing Abraham's summons and grit his teeth, making for the stairs as slow as possible. Abraham waiting against his desk, silver rod held in his gloved fingers. He looked up when his slave entered, and frowned.  
"Answer me truthfully. Did you cause that boy's fall?"  
Alucard met Abraham's eyes unapologetically. "Yes."  
Abraham nodded, then gestured Alucard to him with a finger. "Stand facing the wall, palms against the wall. Don't move." The vampire twitched, shuddering as the seal thrummed through him, and moved to obey. He closed his eyes, leaning his head against his wall and placed his hands against the wall beside his head.  
To his surprise, Abraham didn't remove the restraint suit, and only gave him a few sharp strikes to the thighs that stung through the leather, but didn't do any real damage.  
"Don't do it again," Abraham ordered, setting the rod on his desk and motioning for the vampire to move away from the wall. "I didn't like him either," he chuckled.  
Alucard blinked, but smiled slightly. "Thank you, Master." Abraham nodded sharply, then frowned. "Though, to remind you that you cannot just throw my guests' children out windows, you will not be fed tomorrow night before the mission."  
The vampire nodded, though starving and needing blood, he had expected a much more severe punishment. "Go. Back to my room and sleep for tomorrow night. Do not leave my room," Abraham ordered firmly, and then left to conduct dinner preparations and check on his new patient.  
OoOoO  
Alucard rolled in Abraham's bed, burying himself in the thick lush covers. He was still shocked that Abraham hadn't at least hurt him for the transgression, but he supposed his master had no love for the boy either.  
He buried his face deep into a pillow and inhaled, the seal forcing him to calm at the sent, making him relax and feel the thrums of loyalty and affection. A purr rumbled through his throat, and exhaustion soon took him into sleep.  
OoOoO  
Joshua and his family departed that evening, before dinner. Though Abraham acted saddened, the instructed Joshua to get to a hospital to get Blake proper casting then whispered to him to not bring the family next visit.  
Sleep beginning to take it's hold on him, Abraham made his way to his room and frowned when he saw Alucard curled up in his bed. This wouldn't do… The Helsing moved to the side of the bed, growling and making to pull Alucard from the covers, when he caught sight of the creature's expression.  
Alucard looked completely relaxed and comfortable, as if he were having sweet dreams. Normally when the creature's slept, their expressions were blank, the face of death. Alucard looked as if he were…smiling. Abraham frowned, backing up and turning to pick up his journal and make a note of this, then removed his coat and boots, crawling between the blankets with his vampire.  
He leaned against the headboard, slowly pulling Alucard's top half into his lap to run his fingers through the dark grey hair. Abraham stopped, becoming rigid when Alucard moved, pulling himself more into the human's lap and burying his face against his stomach. Abraham was slightly shocked. He had never observed vampires moving in their sleep.  
Abraham began running his fingers through his slave's hair again, blinking when the vampire began purring. This night was full of so many surprises. They lay thus for several more minutes, until Alucard rolled to his back in Abraham's lap and looked up at his master.  
"You should shower…. You stink," the vampire stated bluntly, rolling from the bed to his corner, where he collapsed among the pillows and blanket's Abraham had lain out earlier.  
"You must not like being fed," Helsing hissed, sliding under his covers and yawning.  
He woke hours later, deep into the night at a pressure over his legs. Awake instantly and reaching for a knife he kept in a nitch in his headboard, he squinted through the darkness. Alucard was asleep at his feet, snuggled up against his legs. Shocked slightly in the fog of sleep, he blinked but shrugged it off, allowing the vampire to sleep on his bed.

Chapter 7: Disobedience

Abraham woke early the next day, laying still for several moments, savoring the vampire slave in it's true place at his feet. Only when he knew he must, did he pull himself away and slide off the bed. His curtains were pulled tight, probably the vampire's doing, so no sunlight could leek through. Abraham chuckled, taking a thick blanket and tossing it over the creature's still sleeping form, then moved to throw the curtains open, purring in the light.  
There was a hiss behind him, and he looked over his shoulder in time to see the blanket be dragged under the bed by a smoking form. He chuckled, kneeling down to look into fuming red eyes.  
"I stopped being afraid at monsters under my bed when I turned seven, Slave. You get four more hours, and then you will sit in the sunroom for one hour of exposure. You will have one hour of exposure every day until you are immune. If you never become immune, then you can look forward to roasting every day. After your hour, I will instruct you on tonight's doings."  
Abraham didn't wait to see if there would be a response from the vampire, chuckling at the angry hiss that followed him out of the room. First a shower, then breakfast. There was much to do today.  
OoOoO  
Waking Alucard while he was hiding under the bed proved to be a chore in itself. Abraham had to slam down on the seals to wake the beast, and Alucard was ticked when he came out, hissing furiously at him.  
"Don't test me right now, Slave. I'll put you under my whip before we go out!" Abraham threatened, pushing his coat back to expose the silver threaded whip attached to his hip. The vampire quieted instantly, and stood fuming with his gaze directed at the floor. Abraham nodded, gripping a belt on the vampire's throat and pulling him out of the room. Just down the hall was the sun parlor, a beautiful room full of windows and lush surroundings for those who wanted to bask in the morning sun.  
Abraham dragged his slave screaming into the room, making sure to strip him of the leather restraint suit and chain him securely to the hooks he had installed earlier that day. Sighing and moving back from the thrashing beast, he took an ornately decorated hourglass and flipped it, setting in on a table in front of Alucard.  
"One hour," he said sternly, then turned and walked out of the room, locking the door securely. Alucard screamed after the human, throwing every curse he knew in four different languages. His body felt the heat keenly, his flesh peeling back and literally cooking in the sunlight.  
The hour passed slowly for the vampire, but he rejoiced in Abraham's return. His master closed the curtains, and released him from the chains. Alucard lay on the floor, healing slower than he wanted as huddled against Abraham's legs.  
"One hour, every day. I can add time to that as well, depending on your behavior."  
He looped the choke chain around Alucard's neck, attaching a leash and pulling the still healing creature after him, making for his office. The curtains were closed tight, but the room was brightly lit by the fire and several lanterns. Abraham led Alucard to a chair before his desk and made the vampire sit, handing him a large cup filled with pig's blood. Alucard twitched, blinking at the meal then gulping it down quickly.  
Abraham had noticed the vampire's increased jumpiness, and wrote it out as one step closer to the critical breaking point for his slave. He watched the vampire eat, realizing he had told Alucard he would not be fed today for yesterday's transgression, but another part of him realized Alucard would not be able to function well without blood in his veins.  
"Tonight, you will be aiding me and seven others on a mission. We are raiding a nest of vampires at a farm about fifteen miles from the edge of London. Your job is to chase them out, and to protect me. You are also to run down any that escape. Do your job well, and you will be rewarded with one of the criminals for a meal. Do you understand?"  
Alucard listened with growing dread, nodding. "Yes Master, I understand…." To catch his children and submit them to this hell…  
"Alucard, I want them alive," Abraham hissed, eyes narrowed. The last thing he needed was for the vampires to get into a fight and Alucard rip them all to shreds! Though vampires were numerous around the city, catching alive them was difficult!  
"If I refuse?" Alucard whispered, keeping his head down and looking into the empty cup he still held in his hands. Abraham chuckled, standing and moving to a painting in the corner of the room.  
"I had planned to do this before we left anyway, but I suppose now is the perfect time. I'll make sure there is nothing but complete submission in your thoughts before we leave." Abraham hit a hidden leaver behind the picture, making the frame swing out to expose a small vault. Alucard watched with growing anxiousness.  
Turning the dial to the correct combination, Abraham opened the vault, gesturing inside. "Come here," he ordered, as if commenting about the weather.  
Alucard stood, moving to stand beside Abraham and look at the inside of the vault. It was small, almost looked like some kind of hidden jewelry box. Small wooden drawers ran the width of the inside of the vault, each holding a small gold handle. Abraham gestured to the drawers, eight in all, a cold smile growing up the side of his face.  
"I have a feeling you will be becoming very familiar with the items of these drawers. Each drawer holds several vials. Inside each vial is a liquid. The higher the drawer," he ran his finger up from the last drawer, to the top one. "The more painful the liquid when injected into your system. Normally, once I reach the fourth drawer, the vampire subject dies after a few moments."  
Alucard shuddered, backing up and shaking his head. Abraham opened the sixth drawer, pulling out a small vial with a swirling shiny metallic liquid inside. "Get on your knees," Abraham growled, reaching back into the drawer to take out a syringe. The vampire backed up again, shuddering as he stared at the vial.  
Abraham sighed, slamming down on his slave with the seal. "I said, DOWN!" Alucard trembled, stunned from the force and falling to the ground twitching. Abraham reached down, taking a handful of the vampire's hair and dragging him to his knees.  
"When I tell you to do something, you do it! No hesitation, no resistance!" Abraham punctuated this by letting up on the seal and slamming the needle into Alucard's neck. "You will obey me in all things," he hissed darkly, lips peeled back in fury.  
The cold, icy liquid seeped into his veins, freezing his blood in an instant. Alucard found himself unable to scream as his muscles locked up and he lay on the floor twitching in a contorted, agonized position.  
A red veil covered his vision, and he looked up at Abraham, shuddering at the grin that spread over the man's face. Alucard's eyes widened at the pain that wrapped it's icy fingers around his heart as the liquid flew through his blood stream, ripping into his most vital organ. He tried to scream, rolling to his side and twitching on the floor, contorting in painful positions.  
"You will obey me tonight on the mission, or I'll bring pain like you can never imagine," Abraham hissed, crouching down over the vampire to run his hand over the twitching beast's hair. Alucard continued gasping, trying to roll over and crawl to a corner where he could curl up, but his body wouldn't obey. Abraham chuckled as he saw thin trails of blood run from the creature's eyes; a faint sheen from the injection seemed to glow about the creature's blood.  
"Are you ready to be obedient?" he inquired to his contorted slave. Alucard tried to answer, but couldn't form any words, only short gasps. "You do not wish to answer? Very well. I'll leave you here for a while." Abraham stood, knowing full well Alucard couldn't speak, but relishing the torment and desperation shining in his eyes.  
As Abraham rose, Alucard managed to hook a claw around the end of his pants, pulling at him. The human didn't move, his arms crossed and a smug look on his face.  
"Ready to obey? To not question my orders?" Alucard gasped, crushing his eyes closed and opening his mouth wide to let out a silent scream as his back arched painfully, to the point where popping bones where heard.  
"I'll take that as a yes," Abraham purred, returning to the vault and taking out a smaller vial, filling the syringe with several milliliters of the new liquid, he knelt and injected it into Alucard's wrist.  
The effects were not immediate, though Alucard could feel warmth spreading about his body, melting the ice in his veins. Abraham turned from the vampire, humming as he replaced the vials and shut the vault. When he turned, Alucard was finally in control of his body, curled in a trembling ball.  
"I'll obey, Master," he managed to gasp out, keeping his eyes clenched shut. Abraham smirked, licking his lips and moving to crouch down beside the vampire, reaching out to grip his chin and turn the vampire's attention to him.  
"See that you do," he warned.  
OoOoO  
The horses' breath froze in the cold night air, forming clouds around their mouths. Even the humans' breath clouded in the air.  
Alucard huddled behind Abraham. No breath came from the vampire's mouth, and this was made all the more apparent in the cold night air.  
Abraham gazed at the barn, chuckling in the darkness. "They know we are here," he whispered, tightening his hold on the crossbow. Helsing turned, blue eyes locking on Alucard. The vampire flinched in the man's gaze, but made no other movements.  
"Go. Chase them out this way," he commanded, grabbing the belts on Alucard's shoulder and turning to shove him toward the barn. Alucard twitched, hissing low under his breath but moving forward. Dark rebellion rose within him, the fierce need to rip the human apart. The seal fought back by pressing loyalty and affection on him, but the furious vampire shook them off.  
"Alucard," Abraham spoke warningly, pressing on the seal lightly. Alucard twitched, then began walking toward the barn, shaking his head. Inside was pitch for any mortal, but his eyes adjusted quickly to the darkness, the pupils of his eyes narrowing to a catlike nature.  
He could see marks of claimed territory everywhere. Well placed claw marks, symbol like markings on the walls and ground. Alucard kept his head low, though his eyes scanned the area around him. He counted nine of them in all, a rather large pack to live and hunt together. It must have been one master creating too many fledglings.  
A low growl issued from above made him stop, and he raised his head, issuing his own growl, displaying his fangs to the watching creatures in the shadows.  
"You are not welcome here, brother," a low hiss said coolly from above him. Alucard looked up, meeting red eyes and laughing. "I would assume so. Though, that doesn't matter."  
The vampire growled deeply, and Alucard detected movement from the others, as they all seemed to take a step toward him. "You are with the hunters outside? Traitor!" The entire pack seemed to move at an unspoken order, lunging for him. Alucard snarled, grabbing the first one that came to him and throwing the vampire out the door.  
Alucard shuddered, making a critical decision. No matter how much he disliked such disrespectful children as this, he would kill them rather than submit them to Helsing's experiments. Unsheathing his claws, Alucard began to rip at them, finding a loophole in the orders. Vampires were not alive.  
Once the creatures began falling and dusting to his claws, the others began to scatter, fleeing rather than facing the terror that was Alucard. Abraham grinned once the vampires began fleeing from the barn, aiming and firing with deadly accuracy at the creatures. The crossbow bolts were tipped with a modified syringe holding a knockout serum he had designed himself.  
With four down, Abraham waited for the rest of the group to flee, but his frown deepened when he saw Alucard walk from the barn, covered in blood. The vampire stopped before him, a slight smirk on the side of his face, and a dark defiant gleam in his red eyes.  
"Where are the rest of the vampires, Slave?" Abraham snarled, taking a step toward his vampire to put his face inches from the others'. Alucard held up a hand, long deadly claws decorating the end of each finger. The vampire licked his hand free of blood, never taking his eyes off of Abraham.  
"You dare disobey me!" Abraham roared, backhanding the vampire across the face. Alucard twitched, though made no sound or movement. A low chuckle began in his throat, erupting into a laugh as he took a step back from Abraham.  
"You seek to control that which you can never control! I'll kill you, rip you apart!" Alucard laughed, grinning defiantly at Abraham. The human clenched his crossbow tightly, slamming into the seals to bring the vampire to his knees.  
"We shall see if you still believe that by the end of tonight," he growled, voice holding dark promises. Abraham slammed down on the mental seals with all his will and fury, watching the vampire's eyes widen and an unnatural scream rip itself from his unliving lungs.  
Making sure the vampire felt the force of his anger, Abraham aimed one of the knockout bolts at his defiant slave, pulling the trigger and watching the vampire shudder, falling into unconsciousness.  
OoOoO  
Warning: Final chance to find a nicer fic to read. Graphic scene below. If you read it, do not flame me for the graphic nature.  
OoOoO  
Alucard groaned, coming awake to find himself undressed and chained to the wall in thick plated silver cuffs. He struggled slightly, hissing at the uncomfortable tightness of the shackles around his ankles, wrists and throat. The vampire growled once he was fully awake, struggling as much as he could in the little movement he was allowed.  
After he had thrown himself in every direction to no avail, Alucard hung in his chains, shivering. Abraham leaned against the wall in his office, the silver threaded whip rolled up and held tight in a hand. His slave had defied him before his men, challenged him directly, and killed valuable and needed subjects! He would make sure the creature would never defy him again!  
Alucard hung shivering when he heard the door open behind him. The vampire perked up, trying to look over his shoulder, though unable to do so he knew instantly it was Abraham, the scent unmistakable. Alucard flinched at each step he heard moving toward him.  
Abraham didn't waste any time with words. He stopped behind the vampire, uncoiling the silver whip; he lashed it out and brought it cracking down across his slave's back.  
Silver digging deep into his flesh, tearing into the muscle of his back, sending waves of agony and searing pain through his body. Alucard arched his back, his starved body not handling the pain well, and let out a pained scream. The vampire tried to twist away from the strike, his scream faded into a whimper as the silver fell away from his back. Tiny barbs along the surface of the lash tore bits of flesh along with it.  
Pulling his arm back, the whip began to fall repeatedly on Alucard's back, searing lines formed in a criss-cross pattern until eventually the entire flesh of the vampire's back was burned from the holy silver.  
Alucard tried not to cry out, wanting to make his position of rebellion more prideful, and clenched his fangs shut after his first initial cry. It was not long before he was screaming, fighting his chains till his wrists bled. Tears of blood ran from his eyes, his entire back felt like it was immersed in holy silver. He was losing a lot of blood, too much for his starved form.  
Panting from punishing the vampire, Abraham decided to take a break; he backed up and punished Alucard with the seals as he rested. Helsing burned to continue, and glared at the vampire's back, noting the flesh hanging in ragged tears, the amount of blood making it impossible to tell where he had left any place unmarked.  
Abraham leaned against the wall, his normal grin when dealing with the vampire had remained a constant snarl, which became more feral as he heard the vampire let out a continued agonized scream from the seals. Alucard's voice broke, and he shook terribly from the ordeal, no longer struggling. One thought ran over and over in his mind, repeating itself. He whimpered, voicing it as the seal stopped its pain.  
"Make it stop…. Please… Make it stop," he whimpered, voice horse and raw.  
Abraham glared at his slave, straightening and moving to his spot behind the creature again. "You will learn your place, Slave! You will learn to mind me!" he hisses. "You will know the pain of disobedience! Now suffer for your actions!" Abraham roared, lashing at Alucard's thighs and rear with the whip, the back was bleeding too heavily to bother with.  
Alucard began struggling in earnest, his shackled limbs burned and bled deeply. The burning lines never stopped, the combined effect of each lash seemed to make the next strike burn worse. The vampire shuddered, feeling his body break and he fell limp, only letting out a weak, horse cry each time he was hit.  
Helsing did not stop, continuing until the flesh over the vampire's entire back side, from his shoulder blades to his calf muscles were nothing but strips of hanging flesh, deep burns etched into the vampire's body, even bits of flesh hung stuck to the tiny, subtle barbs on the whip. Finally bringing it to a close, the stood there, panting as he whipped blood and flesh off his whip.  
"Do not test me filthy beast! I am the Master!" he growled. "You will learn your place, Slave!" Alucard hung lip in the chains, small whimpers coming from his raw throat, and deep tremors flooding over him. The vampire's body burned brutally from the inhumane treatment, and he didn't think he would be able to move any time soon. His voice was gone for now, and his body broke into a blood sweat from the stress. Losing so much blood made him incredibly weak, and it seemed like everything had been crushed from the beast.  
Abraham hissed, moving forward to unchain the vampire, moving the restraints to the floor. Alucard could probably sit up by putting great tension on the chains, but not do much else, and certainly not stand with the length of chain he was given. Snarling and kicking the vampire harshly in the side, spitting on him, Abraham whirled around, slamming the door behind him.  
OoOoO  
Nearly a week later, Abraham paced his office with his eyes focused on the bright moon outside. Things were moving closer and closer to his goal, to become the soul funded hidden organization against the supernatural, primarily the vampires.  
There was just the problem of his vampire, who would be the foundation of the entire thing. The vampire… He hadn't checked on the creature since the whipping, and had ordered the caretakers to leave the creature alone. No food, no company, nothing.  
It should be time to retrieve the beast, and hopefully the tiresome resistance would be fully crushed. Although, it wouldn't be a bad idea to keep reminding him with subtle actions.  
Abraham dusted himself off, arranging the papers on his desk and leaving for the dungeons. Alucard had nearly dried up, and it was a miracle he had not. Helsing crouched over the vampire, who was sprawled over the ground. The whip lashes had somewhat healed, but had formed a mass of scar tissue over the creature's back, rear, and legs. Abraham ran a hand over them and detected a slight twitch from the vampire. He smiled, rolling the vampire over to look down into dull, terrified eyes.  
Taking a small knife from it's sheath at his side, Abraham cut his wrist, holding it above the vampire's mouth, letting the blood drip into it's mouth. Alucard shuddered, creaking his mouth open to swallow every drop. Abraham lowered his arm, letting the vampire suck from the wound.  
Alucard made small whimpering sounds, and Abraham observed the slow repair of scars on his back. He smiled, and pulled his arm back. Alucard let go, licking his lips and rolling away from his master, shivering.  
"Good boy. I don't believe we will have any trouble with you now," Abraham purred, leaning over the vampire and running a hand through his bone white hair. Alucard didn't make a sound, and Abraham doubted the creature would have been able to speak anyway. He took his coat off, releasing the vampire from it's chains and wrapping him in the thick red canvas. Abraham picked the creature up, smiling when Alucard hid his face in his shirt, and left for the storage room where the blood was kept.  
Alucard would need to be well fed for the week's festivities and the party! After all, he was the main attraction.

Chapter 8: Christmas Party

Journal Entry # 82  
December 24, 1886  
The subject seems to have reacted quite well to the whipping. There does not seem to be any resistance, and it follows orders easily. It is amazing what a bit of taming can do. Interesting side effects to the training: subject has not spoken since I have retrieved it, follows me around constantly in a hunched, broken posture, visibly flinches at the sight or mention of the whip itself. Just today, it was appearing to ignore me while I was addressing it. At the mention of the whip, it flinched and appeared fully attentive.  
I have been feeding it fresh blood until it looked healthy enough for the party and unveiling tomorrow. I have invited many of the other doctors and scientists around the country, as well as most of the higher lords. It is the perfect time for me to show off my talents.  
The subject's hair has turned the deep black it had been at his arrival into England. I believe that the amount of feeding it receives directly relates to the colour. When he his half starved, it is a light grey, when he is starved, it's a bone white, and now that he is fed, it's black.  
Also, another way to tell the feeding of the vampires is through their mouths. Though, this is a less recommended action, it serves the purpose for the slave vampires taught not to bite. Their gums turn a bloodless white as their blood supply becomes dry. But the complete determining factor is the tongue. The tongue is one of the most used organs of these beasts, (explains the length?) used for tasting the air like a snake, for body language among each other, feeding, and most likely other unknown reasons. When the vampire dries up, the tongue is the last visible part of the body holding blood. When the tongue turns dull or white, the vampire is near dry.  
I have not briefed the subject on tomorrow's events, testing to see if he will obey me in public. I will continue to hang the threat of the whip over it's head, as this seems to have a positive reaction. It's flesh still bares the marks of his first (likely not the last) whipping. Most has healed, though there appears to be very fait marks here and there over the flesh, as if some wounds could not be fully healed. Should look into this further.  
I hope he is broken, though there is a strange flicker in his eyes, something I believe may be his mind breaking as his spirit falls.  
The subject resists entering the sunroom; especially on the promise of making up the seven hours he missed recovering in the dungeons after his whipping. My slave sits in there now; I can hear his screams still in my head. I hope that such severe action before the party may curb his behaviors, but with vampires, one can never know. Their behavior is erratic and unpredictable, especially with something so wild as Alucard.  
He will be fully tame when I present him to the king four weeks from now. There is no question.  
Abraham Van Helsing  
Abraham leaned back, watching the ink of his journal dry. The vampire's screaming had finally stopped as he drew the entry to a close, and he now wondered if the sun had killed the beast. Abraham stood, heading for the sunroom and peaked inside. The vampire still had a good hour or so to go.  
The vampire had curled up on the floor, flesh charred and steaming, but the full blast of sun didn't seem to hurt him as much. Abraham grinned, stepping inside and standing over the trembling creature.  
"Good, good! See, you are already becoming immune! Very soon, you will no longer be bothered by the sun at all!" Abraham crouched down, unchaining the creature and running a hand through the soft black hair.  
Abraham had found a rather dusty suit in some of his father's old clothes. They hardly fit Alucard, and hung baggy from his shoulders and hips, but served their purpose. Boots were a bit harder to find, since the vampire's toes were slightly clawed. Though, after a bit of searching, had found a good pair that would fit the creature's long feet.  
After having them cleaned, Alucard did not look half bad, though he was pale and slightly jumpy. Alucard sat against his master's legs, as Abraham leaned on the railing overlooking the ballroom, smiling at the turn out. His Christmas parties were usually notorious for being strange, but very enjoyable. It was more a social call between old workmates, and for the other doctors to discuss future and past experiments. Something he had noticed as well, was the frequency of the current doctors to pull their idles into the dungeons to show off their findings or work.  
He would outshine them all, for he had done the unthinkable and unimaginable. Abraham Helsing had tamed a vampire. Though, most didn't realize the enormity of this venture, for most only knew that Alucard was a vampire, not who he had been before he had become the slave of Helsing. If they had known that, it would be a much greater feat.  
Abraham leaned back, looking down at Alucard. He had found a thin metal collar for the night. A leash was attached to the ring, and hooked onto the end of his belt. Abraham had tried to do something with the beast's hair, but found that was quite impossible, and it seemed to have a mind of it's own, sticking out in erratic directions.  
The master bent down slowly, tilting his slave's head up to demand his attention. "You will behave and you will do what I order you to without hesitation. If you fail, I will take you across the hall and whip you again."  
Alucard nodded slightly, shuddering. "Yes Master," he replied in something barely more than a whisper. "Good boy," Abraham purred, letting go of the creature's chin and standing. The vampire stood with him, the sound of hundreds of heartbeats slightly distracting. Pulled by his lead chain, Alucard followed him with some hesitation, his paranoia and mind starting to clear from the trauma. Nothing like the sound and smell of hundreds of humans to pull him back into reality.  
They stopped at the top of the stairs, very visible to the entire hall. "Welcome, Lords, Ladies, and Gentlemen! We are here to celebrate the birth of our Lord in Heaven, and to gather and exchange valuable information among each other. In that subject, I would like to present my own experiment," these words spoken, Abraham tugged at Alucard's leash to pull the vampire from behind him and in full view of all the guests.  
"This is my pet, Alucard. He is a tame vampire." This declaration sent murmurs through the crowd, and many were of skepticism. "I see you do not believe me," Abraham chuckled, turning to Alucard and saying very plainly, "Kneel."  
The order thrummed through the seal, and Alucard flinched, his red eyes looking out to the humans then back at his master. Abraham frowned and narrowed his eyes, whispering under his breath. "Obey me."  
This was a critical moment, and if the beast chose to be disobedient now, he would have to say good-bye to his reputation. Alucard lowered his head, sliding to his knees and bowing his head to Abraham, his eyes noting the slight twitch of Abraham's hand to the whip under his coat.  
The entire ballroom was silent at the display, watching in hushed awe as what most knew to be a member of the most ferocious breed of beasts, kneeling and acting perfectly docile to this man. Most of the men were still shocked over it being on a leash. Abraham grinned, turning to the crowd and reaching down to run his hand through the vampire's hair.  
"Perfectly tame. You will all be allowed to pet him later tonight, but now I believe we have a Christmas dinner to enjoy!" There was clapping, and a bit of cheering, though some still stood stunned at the sight.  
Abraham turned, leading the vampire into a room down the hall as his guests filed into the dining hall. He whirled around pulling the leash from his belt and snapping it sharply, making the creature yip and stand up straight.  
"You hesitated! I'm not going to have you ruin this night for me. I'll have to curb your behavior now at this first sign before something worse happens!" He reached under his coat, pulling out what appeared to be a small rod, but with a flick of his wrist, it snapped out. About three feet in length, it was a solid silver switch like implement, and one that made Alucard wince at the sight of it.  
"You will obey me! I'll not have you ruining me tonight," Abraham snarled, jerking the leash harshly to throw the vampire half over a nearby table. Alucard grunted when he hit the table, laying over it and tried to get up. His master pressed him back down, shoving his face into the table.  
"Do not move," Abraham growled, releasing the vampire to take a step back and tug the creature's pants down. "You do not hesitate when I give you an order," he hissed, delivering a stinging, brutal blow to the vampire's thighs.  
Alucard whimpered, flinching at the blow, but not crying out. His master struck him again, harder. This elected a small whine from the beast, and he tried to squirm out of the way. Abraham nabbed his collar firmly, roughly snatching him back in position and holding him down.  
"You defy me yet again! That whipping taught you nothing," Abraham growled, furious, and kept his grip on the vampire's collar, striking his thighs and rear brutally with the silver switch. Alucard began voicing his discomfort after the first three blows, squirming slightly under his master's hold and crying out openly.  
Abraham beat his slave thus, delivering a brutal reminder of his place and the whipping of just two weeks before. When he drew it to a close, Alucard's voice had cracked, and he was shaking in terror and pain, small thin trails of vampiric tears were just forming.  
"I should whip you again!" Abraham snarled, jerking the suffering beast back from the table and throwing him to the floor. "Lick my boots and thank me for not whipping you again!" he commanded firmly.  
Alucard whimpered, trying to gather himself on the floor and managed to get his pants up. He looked up at Abraham, but received a swift strike to the head with the silver implement for his actions.  
"A slave never looks at his master unless directed to do so!" Abraham roared, setting the thin silver rod on the table, and reaching to his waist to unlatch the whip. Alucard, though dazed, recognized the sound of the whip cracking over his head, and screamed, curling into a ball and trembling intensely.  
"Perhaps you will have no need to thank me for not whipping you, as I will have already done it!" Alucard, though terrified, jerked toward Abraham on his hands and knees at the second whip crack, very near his shoulder. The vampire kneeled before Abraham, nearly lying on the floor as an Asian worshiper might, before his master and ran the pointed tip of his long tongue over his boot.  
Abraham gazed down at his slave, a whisper of a chuckle escaping his lips. "Good boy," he purred, leaning over to run the fingers of his free hand through his hair. He suddenly gripped a handful of it, and shoved the vampire's face against his boot.  
"I think they are a bit dull, shine them," he ordered, holding the creature's face against the brown leather until Alucard began licking at it again. Abraham let go, standing and backing up, much to the vampire's confusion. His master turned a wooden chair around, sitting in it and crossing his legs.  
"Continue," he ordered. Alucard still shook, his ruby orbs locked on the whip held so easily in Abraham's hand. He could barely understand what he was doing, and crawled forward slowly, claws on his fingers clicking against the floor, and sat on his hands and hunches at Abraham's feet.  
Alucard leaned forward, squeezing his eyes shut and letting his demon tongue fall from between his bottom fangs and lowered his head to Abraham's boots. "Are you hesitating again?" Abraham's cool voice questioned above him. Alucard began trembling harder when he saw the whip's lash move near him and immediately dropped his head the rest of the way, licking at his master's boots with vigor, wanting to avoid another whipping.  
Abraham leaned back in the chair, his sharp blue eyes glaring down at the near prostrate vampire, and a sneer forming up the side of his face. The moment was too perfect, it was all perfect. To have his slave, the No Life King himself, kneeling and trembling at the very sight of his whip, shining his boots with his tongue. It was a moment that would excite him at only the memory.  
He could feel himself becoming aroused at the sight, and tilted his head back, anger diminishing as a more pressing need thrust itself upon him. It would be strange though, for a single sentence echoed in his head. ' It is never a good idea to stick your penis in the mouth of anything with fangs.' That was easy to remedy. The seal. Alucard could not harm his master, nor disobey his order.  
Abraham looked back down to the vampire, noting that the creature was near finished, and the leather of his boots shone nicely. Alucard finished, sitting back on his hunches and staring down at the stone, completely humiliated and wishing he could just crawl into a corner and dust.  
"Good boy," Abraham chuckled, his voice thick. He reached out with the toe of his boot, raising the vampire's chin. "Now you are going to help me with one more thing. Abraham stood, looking down at the vampire and unbuttoning his pants.  
Alucard's eyes widened, and he choked, shaking his head and scooting back. His master's eyes narrowed and he cracked the whip threateningly. "Do not defy me," he warned. Alucard shuddered, squeezing his eyes shut and staring down at the floor, whimpering.  
"If I feel anything remotely close to teeth or fangs, I'll have them pulled and make a necklace out of them." Abraham strode forward, grabbing a handful of the vampire's hair, and jerking his head back. "Now open your mouth."  
Abraham and Alucard arrived at the dining hall late, though the meal had been postponed until they arrived. Alucard walked behind Abraham, his leash tucked as it was before, in his master's belt. The vampire looked slightly sick, and was trembling visibly. No one questioned what had happened, but the whip was now in full view to the guests, as Abraham had discarded his coat, but most could have guessed. Or what they thought.  
Helsing sat at the head of the great table, making another short speech that was the introduction to the meal. A few short sentences, and the meal began. Polite chatter was exchanged between the ladies, while men spoke of politics and work.  
Abraham sat, snapping his fingers at the vampire and pointing to the floor beside him. Alucard flinched, his ruby eyes wide like a child's and terrified. The flecks of insanity Abraham had noted before were back, and seemed more prominent in the creature's eyes.  
"Sit," he ordered, narrowing his gaze. Alucard nearly collapsed to the floor, scooting as far from Abraham as his leash would allow, and leaning against a leg of the table. The stares he was getting from many of the guests made him wonder if they knew what had happened only minutes before. The taste of his master thick in his mouth made strong waves of nausea rise and wrack his stomach.  
The vampire huddled against the wooden leg, ignoring most of what was going on around him, and nearly cried out when a small boy seemed to appear before him, poking his shoulder. He must have only been about two, maybe a bit older. The young one did not speak, and Alucard didn't move, his pupils narrowing and focusing on the boy. His mother seemed to notice his missing and moved around the table, shocked to see her child so close to the vampire.  
Snatching him up, she hurried back to her seat, her sharp words making the boy whimper. Alucard looked over to his master, focusing on his chest, then flicked back to the ground, shivering at the enormity of his position. He was brought a wooden bowl of pigs blood, and he smiled, reaching out to pick it up, grateful for the opportunity to rid his mouth of the horrid taste.  
"Do not use your hands," came Abraham's soft voice from above. Alucard tensed, stopping in mid reach, then pulling his arms back and huddling against the table leg again. "You do not want your meal? It may be the last you get for some time." Alucard flinched at his master's voice again, and shook his head, gritting his teeth and staring at the floor.  
"Very well. I shall have to starve you again to teach you all blood is a gift." He heard a clap over near Abraham, and an attendant appeared, reaching down for the bowl. Alucard hissed, lunging forward to position himself over the bowl, blazing eyes glaring up at the man. The attendant backed away, looking to Abraham.  
"Eat it or lose it then, Slave." Alucard looked down at his meal, closing his eyes and blocking out the sounds of the humans around him, and the fact he was being forced to eat like a dog before them all. He leaned down, lapping it up in a matter of minutes then sitting back, licking his lips and returning to his spot.  
Abraham pulled his leash, tugging him over at his side and resting a hand on the top of his head as he talked. Alucard ducked his head, trying to get the offending hand off him, but his master persisted, even snatching the chain to make him stay up. Alucard was thankful for the blood, happy to have the taste of his master from his mouth, but sickened by the memory of it.  
His leash was pulled and he was forced to rest his chin on Abraham's thigh, dangerously close to where he had been before. Alucard whimpered, shaking yet again and trying to pull back, but Abraham kept firm hold on his collar.  
"For your good…..behavior, you will get a treat," Abraham purred above him. Alucard, who had not been paying attention to the mortals around him, and hardly to their words, did not realize Abraham was making a big show of his 'tame' vampire before half the nobles.  
A bloodied piece of raw meat was held before his mouth, and Alucard blinked, pulling his head back slightly then opening his mouth and swallowing it. Though vampires could not digest solid food very well, if at all, male vampires had a tendency of devouring chunks of fresh meat from a corpse. Abraham had studied this strange behavior, but had yet to understand the drive behind it, or how exactly the beasts digested it. Though he believed that the males were able to break down and absorb the proteins and other vitamins and such from the meat, leaving no unused product. This had become his recent theory on discovering all males possessed two stomachs, while females only had one.  
Abraham offered another bloodied chunk of meat to his pet, smiling when the vampire didn't hesitate to take this one, swallowing it quickly and seeming to wait for more. He fed the vampire the last few bits of bloodied meat from the small saucer he had ordered, and ran his fingers through the creature's hair, petting him as one would a cat or dog as he continued his conversations with the men around him.  
Helsing made sure the end of the vampire's leash was latched firmly to a hook in the wall, then chuckled at the creature huddling against the wall, as far as he could get from him. Abraham turned, heading into the throng of people for dancing and socializing.  
Alucard sat on the floor, whining and huddling against the wall, his red eyes staring at the humans. Soon a small crowd had formed an arch around him, one man even having the gall to crouch down and whistle to him like he was a dog. Alucard tried to ignore them, wanting to appear fierce enough to keep them from touching him, without getting Abraham angry.  
One of the men stepped forward, bravely crouching in front of the vampire and reaching out to pet him. Alucard flinched, narrowing his eyes and bristling at him. This didn't seem to dissuade the human, as his hand fell slowly and rested on top of the vampire's head. Alucard flinched again at the touch, and tried to duck his head to get the hand off of him, but the man would not pull back.  
He slowly began stroking his hair, smiling and whispering something in a strange language, even to the vampire. It must have been Chinese. Alucard looked up at the man as he still tried to back away. He was Chinese, that explained it. Suicidal, the whole lot of them.  
Alucard whined, his fierce guise dropped and he tried to shift to the side, wanting desperately to get away from all these people and crawl into his cell. It was torture to not be able to eat them. The Chinese man smiled, scooting forward as the vampire moved over, until he sat beside the creature, his hand still slowly and lightly petting him.  
The vampire was surprised when a strawberry was suddenly offered to him from the man's other hand, and he blinked, looking over at him suspiciously. The Chinese man just grinned, continuing to offer the fruit. Alucard snatched it up quickly, much to the surprise and amusement of the humans standing around them, and sucked it dry.  
He tossed the dry fruit to the side, looking at the Chinese man again and grinning when he saw the human hold his hands up, palms out, then flick a wrist and offer another magically appeared strawberry. Alucard took the fruit, draining this one as well and grinning when the man stood, fluffing Alucard's hair.  
"Even nosferatu should enjoy Christmas," he whispered, turning and moving through the thong of people, disappearing from the creature's vision. A bit settled down, Alucard licked his lips, cleaning them of the strawberry taste, and eyed the next human that stepped forward to try and pet him.  
The party had begun slowing down, people leaving in small groups, laughing loudly and wishing each other a Merry Christmas. Alucard was thankful most of them had left him alone after Abraham had come over to shoo them away. His master was passing out some kind of paper, though he didn't pay attention to it, laying across the floor and sighing.  
A man that had been staring at him for the past hour chose this moment to approach slowly, causing Alucard to look up. He was tired of having humans rub their hands on him, and was about to snap at the human, hoping Abraham wouldn't get too angry.  
Alucard paused, as the man came closer and his red eyes fell on the silver blade in his hand. The vampire tensed for the first time since the man with the strawberries, and scrambled to his feet, hissing dangerously. Abraham noted something strange on the other side of the room and frowned when he saw the vampire acting hostile to an approaching guest.  
Growling, Abraham pressed down on the seal, making Alucard cry out slightly and drop to his knees gripping his hair and whining. Satisfied the creature would not try to harm a guest, he continued addressing potential candidates for his new, and soon to be, organization.  
The man grinned; glad he had his back to Abraham and crouched down before the beast. He turned the knife in the light, and reached out to grip the vampire's hair, growling under his breath.  
"This is for what your kind did to my daughter and son." The knife came down into the creature's back, making Alucard throw his head back and screech. Abraham was at their sides in an instant, his face set in cold fury.  
"Robins," he hissed, slamming his fist into the man's head, knocking him to the side, then crouching and pulling the blade from his vampire. Alucard lunged to the side, growling lowly as he nursed a new wound.  
"I should let him eat you for that, but Kristy would be all alone if I were to do so. You do not attack, nor kill what is mine!" Abraham yelled, landing a solid kick into Robins' side, then proceeding to beat him into near unconsciousness and have a few of the attendants 'escort' him out.  
Abraham crouched beside Alucard, noting the creature was more angry than hurt and smiled, shaking his head. "I have a present for you. You've done very well tonight, apart from your hesitation earlier, so I'll give it to you." Abraham turned escorting the last of his guests out then having the attendants clean up while he led his slave into his room.  
His master placed a small bowl of blood in front of him, and a bowl of strawberries next to that. "It's my blood. Enjoy, and don't make a mess," he ordered, collapsing into bed, asleep the next moment. Alucard gleefully devoured his meal, licking his lips and looking up at where his master slept. The seal continued to make him loyal and affectionate to this man, even through the horrors of the night. It was thrumming the desire to curl up next to him and sleep as well, even though his rational mind was screaming at him to try to get out of this room.  
Alucard turned away from Abraham, still trying to fight the seal, and lay over his little nest of pillows and blankets on the floor. Small trails of tears slipped down the side of his face and he growled, morning the loss of his mind as it slipped more and more away with each night in this hell.

Chapter 9: Silver Tongue

Alucard threw his arms over his coffin, quickly cleaning the dust and grime that had settled over the glossy black surface and smiled. He had finally been granted the privilege of sleeping in the coffin, though he mused the true reason was for some huge meeting with the king his master had. Having been kept away from his resting place, Alucard became more and more haggard looking. No matter how much he drank, it would not make up for the power, rejuvenation, and protection his coffin gave him.  
The vampire made sure the outside was perfectly cleaned, then crawled inside and purred, finding comfort in the soft velvet and the thin layer of cool dirt under him. Three weeks after the party had been nothing but Abraham's 'training.' The sun only reddened his flesh now, but still hurt, and he doubted no matter how much Abraham locked him into that room, he would never be able to see very well in such bright light.  
Abraham had praised his fast learning, and told him he could sleep in the coffin for the day, which came as a great relief and enjoyment to the creature. The dark thought entered his mind again, for the fifth time since he had heard his master was going to take him to meet the king. Blackmail… No matter how much he was beaten beforehand, there was no absolute way to make sure he didn't do something to embarrass the human at this meeting. He would have to bring up the ultimatum just before the meeting; otherwise Abraham would have a chance to figure out a way out of it.  
Alucard chuckled darkly to himself, curling up in his coffin, purring at the thought. Either Abraham would conform, or he would be very upset. But in truth, he would have no other option but to fold, otherwise it would be a dark smudge on his record.  
OoOoO  
The vampire stood tall, keeping his attention straight ahead as his master walked around him, making sure the restraint suit was in proper order, then smiled and stepped back, getting his slave in full view. Abraham noted that while the creature stood straight, and was well fed, Alucard was at least four inches taller than him.  
Abraham smiled, proud that his work in training the creature had paid off, and he would be presented before the king in two days, the perfect foundation of his new, funded organization.  
"Let's run through this once more, then you will be fed," Abraham stated, backing up several steps then slowly taking three forward. "I enter a room in which you happen to be in as well." Alucard turned to his master, bowing deeply. "Good boy." Abraham grinned wider then approached the creature, standing before him. "Then I address you formally." Alucard sank to a knee, kneeling at his master's feet.  
Abraham crouched, running a hand over Alucard's hair. "Very good! No hesitation, quick reaction. You've done very well these past weeks, the king will be pleased." Abraham stood, walking around the kneeling slave once again.  
"In the king's presence, you do not speak when spoken to. Keep your eyes to the floor. You do not rise until I tell you to. No feral actins such as growling, snarling, any hostile show of teeth, ect. Stay by my side unless the king calls you to him. Understand?" Alucard rose slowly, his red eyes locking upon his master's steel blue ones. The human frowned, detecting some dark rebellion within the beast.  
Alucard grit his fangs, wondering if this was the best time to toss up his ultimatum. "I have my own conditions, Master," the vampire stated forcefully. Abraham frowned, his eyes hardening. He stepped up, getting his face inches from the other's.  
"What did you just say to me, Slave?" his voice was dangerous, low, and spoke of horrid punishments. Alucard narrowed his eyes, pupils narrowing as he stood straighter, looking down at the Helsing. "I have my own conditions. If you want me to make you look good, I suggest you listen and do your best to meet them." A small smirk formed up the side of the creature's face, making one long fang overlap his bottom lip.  
They stood thus for several seconds, Abraham's face contorting slowly into dark rage. "And I had thought your training near complete! It seems there is still free will we need to crush from you!" He backhanded the creature harshly across the face, and then slammed down on the seals, watching the creature collapse in waves of agony. The whip emerged from under his coat, and cracked in the air over his head.  
"It seems we need to start from the beginning! How dare you threaten your master?" Abraham cracked the whip again, kicking the writhing beast harshly in the side. The Helsing crouched down grabbing several buckles on the restraint suit and stripping him of it quickly and easily. He threw the suit to the side, and then slammed the whip into the beast's naked flesh.  
Alucard screeched, rolling to the side and trying to scramble away from the pain, though there was no way to escape the seal's fury. His master followed him across the floor, leaving harsh lash marks over his flesh.  
"How dare you threaten me? You will behave before the king! Do you hear me? You. Will. Behave!" Abraham emphasized each of the last three words with a harsh strike across his flesh. Alucard screeched, throwing himself across the floor in desperate attempts to escape, finally managing to curl himself into the fireplace, huddling among the ashes and quivering.  
Once the vampire was beyond easy reach with the whip, crammed into the back of the fireplace and becoming quite dirty with soot and ash, Abraham backed up, heaving from fury.  
"I'll have to give you the entire three months lessons in two days!" The human snarled, moving to his desk and slamming the whip on the surface, angrily opening a drawer to his desk.  
"Come here! Now!" A very dirty Alucard climbed out of the fireplace, shaking soot from his hair and trying to wipe the ashes from his flesh, only smearing them worse. "Alucard!" The vampire flinched, looking up and standing, huddled, moving to Abraham with his head bowed.  
"What happened? You were doing so well! Now it's as if everything I've taught you has just…disappeared!" Alucard winced, keeping his head low as his master continued to rant, then slipped the choke chain over his head, attaching the collar.  
"I shall help you remember your training. Luckily this rebellion of yours has reared it's head before the meeting!" Abraham jerked the leash, dragging the reluctant, and planning vampire back into the dungeons.  
OoOoO  
Alucard eyed the guards as they entered the grand building. They looked living, in all respects to his vision, but stood like statues, unmoving. His body was sore, he could feel every wound keenly as he moved and the harsh fabric of his clothing brushed them. Abraham growled something at him, but he hardly paid attention, though making sure to stay close and eye every guard or human they passed.  
They were escorted to a lush waiting room, where Abraham sat in a chair and gestured to the floor by his feet. Alucard paced a few steps then moved to sit where directed, sore and shaking slightly. The vampire contemplated behaving, and abandoning his plan. Abraham had made many dark promises, and backed them up with harsh lessons.  
Abraham waited, resting a hand on top of Alucard's head, playing in his hair slightly. Nearly fifteen minute's later, an attendant came to retrieve them, leading them into the king's chambers. As instructed, Alucard lowered his head, and kneeled with his master. It was quiet for several moments, before a cool, commanding voice spoke above them.  
"Abraham, it is good to see you again. This is your new prize?" Abraham stood and the king's voice and grinned, resting a hand on the still kneeling vampire. "Yes, this is him. Quite docile, I assure you. And the basis for what we discussed earlier."  
Alucard stood, getting a frown from Abraham, as he had not been instructed to do so. The vampire huffed, jerking away from his master and wondering across the room to sniff at one of the guards. Abraham growled, clenching his fist and tilting his head to the king.  
"He still is a tad rebellious…and tends to fall to his barbaric animal instincts at times. That will be trained out of him, as he is still slightly new." The king frowned, leaning back and watching the beast. The vampire sniffed around a guard, ignoring Abraham's growled orders completely. He dared to reach out and poke the guard to see if the man was really alive, or if his vampiric senses were just fooling him.  
"ALUCARD!" The vampire looked up to see Abraham storming over to him and shove him against the wall. "Stop misbehaving!" Alucard glared at him, barely able to not growl at the man. "I gave you a chance, you opted to try to beat it out of me. It didn't work…"  
Alucard watched smugly as the man's face darkened with anger, and he dragged him to the king, throwing him down on the floor. " You will ask forgiveness or I will beat your wretched hide until there is no flesh on you!" The king watched Abraham through this, not saying anything, and mumbling to an adviser behind him. Alucard hissed, forcing himself to his feet and shoving Abraham off.  
"I do not bow to so wormlike a man," he replied coolly, looking straight at the king and grinning wide enough to show off his fangs and growl deeply. "I thought you said he was tame, Helsing…"  
Abraham grit his teeth, shaking with fury. "He is…he's being stubborn!"  
"I see. Very well, if this is the kind of scum you plan to kill in my lands, you will have your funding, Abraham." Helsing let out a short sigh of relief, bowing and grabbing Alucard's upper arm and dragging him from the chamber and throwing him into the carriage outside.  
"How dare you make a fool out of me?" Abraham shoved the smug looking vampire into the floor, shoving a foot into his back to keep him there. "You won't be so proud of yourself when we get back," the human promised darkly.  
Alucard allowed himself to be pressed into the floor, unable to keep himself from grinning. He had successfully embarrassed his master before a high authority, though the human had still gotten what he was after. A shame.  
"Did you not get what you wished? I see no reason to be upset, Master." Abraham snarled, almost ready to beat the creature where he was. "Yes, I did. Though I have been shamed before the court because of you! And you will pay for that!"  
The vampire's eyes shone and he chuckled, ignoring the scalding look from Abraham. "You should have thought about that before you spurned my warning." Abraham pressed on the seal, growling lowly and getting satisfaction at watching the vampire squirm and whine from the growing pain.  
"You have a silver tongue toward me and the king tonight, Slave. We shall remedy that tonight. If you want to act like an animal, I'm going to treat you like an animal."  
As promised, upon their arrival, Abraham looped the choke chain around Alucard's neck, jerking the leash and dragging him out of the coach. Even with punishment imminent, Alucard couldn't help but still feel joyful over his actions. Nothing could take his happiness away.  
Abraham led him roughly into the manor, then turned and arched his body sharply, jerking down on the leash. "Crawl!" Alucard yipped, falling off balance and ending up with his face in the floor and Abraham's foot between his shoulders.  
"Do not get up. You will crawl until I tell you otherwise!" Abraham jerked the leash again, making the chain collar tighten around the vampire's throat, and then dragged him into his office. Alucard coughed, finding he couldn't stand if he wanted to. Every time he tried, the impossible weight of the seal kept him down.  
Alucard crawled behind his master, making a point to dig his claws into the wood floor and leave scratches and small gouges. Abraham noted this, but said nothing and jerked the creature into his office, shutting and locking the door.  
"Stay boy," Abraham ordered, turning and moving to a tall cabinet in the corner. He pulled out a flask of clear liquid, and moved to stand over the creature, unstopping to mouth of the flask.  
"Since you cannot end the workings of your demon tongue, I'm going to help remind you to do so." Abraham crouched before the vampire, nabbing his jaw and forcing his mouth open. "Swallow ever drop," he commanded, pouring the liquid into Alucard's mouth.  
Alucard's eyes widened instantly, the burn was unmistakable of holy water. He squeezed his eyes shut, choking on the scalding water and trying to pull back from Abraham's grip. Abraham wrestled him to the ground, snarling and forcing the entire flask of holy water down his slave's throat.  
"Swallow it!" he ordered, watching the creature's flesh melt from the escaping water. Abraham stood, backing up and leaning on his desk, throwing the empty flask across the room and watching the glass shatter into thousands of pieces and rain over the gasping and writhing vampire.  
Alucard wrapped his arms around his middle, convulsing violently as the water melted his organs, even as his body desperately tried to heal the constant damage. Blood leaked from his mouth and smeared over the floor in his violent and jerking movements.  
Abraham stood coolly to the side, watching the scene play out, then reached around, into his desk and withdrew a long sheathed knife. Stepping forward and tossing the sheathe to the side, Abraham knelt beside the writhing vampire, wrestling to get his arms back and drove the knife into his gut, slicing upward.  
Blood sprayed from the wound, soaking the vampire and the master. Abraham smiled as the vampire gradually stopped writhing, blood running in torrents from his mouth and the gaping wound. Alucard groaned, bleeding dry on the tile floor, but glad to have the acid from his system.  
Abraham grinned, watching his slave suffer, and reached down to wipe blood and hair from the creature's face. "Think you can control your silver tongue and obey now? Next I'll make sure it's mercury." He growled. Alucard nodded slightly as his flesh began to knit together, repairing itself from the trauma. His hair lightened, slowly turning white from his loss of blood. Abraham smiled, pulling the shaking vampire into his lap and petting him softly.  
"You are a slow learner, but that's what makes you so delightfully fun."

Chapter 10: Companionship

The months following became crowded with events. Abraham quickly took the king's blessing, all to eager to gain knighthood and begin his organization. Visitor after visitor came, all the highest nobles came to learn about this strange new secret organization that was being constructed. Alucard found himself playing butler to his master, much to his irritation.  
Quests would stare at him in unshielded curiosity. Most of these nobles had no clue what a vampire was, or that they even existed. They only knew that Abraham was starting, and head of something big, and wanted to be his friend to get their hand in it. The nobles, their wives and bratty children would stare at the vampire as he waited on them, dressed nicely in a perfect butler suit. He knew their thoughts, easily as his master had lifted the most extreme restraint to allow him minimal power. They were all wondering what kind of inbreeding he had gone through to get such strange eyes.  
Inbreeding…he would tear them apart for such thoughts were he able! The family of Dracula was the highest in Romania! The most noble of that land. Though here…he didn't seem to be very high on any ladder.  
"Stop hunching so much! Oh dear, come here and bend over a bit so I can fix your hair. Try not to dump the platter onto the floor!" Alucard growled, glaring at the head of the serving department. The man fiddled with his hair for a few minutes then seemed satisfied.  
"Lord Charles is in the first floor main hall. Take him to one of the spare sitting rooms and serve him," the short scrawny man looked up at Alucard, waiting patiently for the vampire to move to his task. Alucard grit his teeth, tired of having to bow to every whim of these irritating humans. Abraham was one thing…he had no choice with that man, and he never made ridiculous demands as these petty men did.  
"Well, get to it!" The man shooed at Alucard, causing the vampire to growl at him, but under orders by his master, had to obey. Abraham would pay for this…he would make sure of it! Alucard stepped into the main hall, bowing sharply to the lord and his family.  
"Ahh, about time! We've been standing here for ten minutes," what Alucard presumed to be Lord Charles stated, raising an eyebrow at the towering thin man. "Right this way, my Lord," Alucard replied dryly, waving an arm down the hallway and bowing again, leading the way. He could hear their whispers, especially that of the children. "What's wrong with the man?" The lord shushed them, patting their heads. "Probably some poor inbred, bastard son Abraham has kindly taken in out of the goodness of his heart and given a job to. Our world needs more saintly men such as Abraham."  
Alucard ignored them, acting as if he had not heard and led them into the sitting room. He bowed again as they all sat, the children staring at his eyes and strange frame. "Anything I can get you Sir?" The lord nodded, leaning back on the large plush sofa.  
"Yes, have Helsing see me as soon as he can, and my family and I require food and drink." Alucard bowed yet again, hating the man as he left the room to serve him. He would be happy when all of this was over…being locked in a cell was better than this.  
OoOoO  
Alucard stood against the doorway of his master's chambers, watching Abraham preen and perfect himself with the vigor of a woman. He would frequently turn to the vampire, asking how he looked or if something fit. The vampire dutifully gave his truthful opinion, though hated every second of it. The time had come, five months after the meeting with the king, and this was Abraham's big moment. He was to be knighted, and the opening of the organization would begin.  
For the final time, Abraham checked himself in the mirror, turning to grin at Alucard. "It's time. My moment. Do I look alright?" Alucard approached him, straightening his jacket in a few spots and smoothing out wrinkles in his back, circling the human in an almost predatory way before stopping before him and smiling slightly.  
"Perfect, Master. This night will be nothing but perfection for you, I will make sure of it," the vampire quelled his master's anxiousness, bowing and opening the door for him. "Good. I expect nothing less but perfection this night, Alucard. Don't fail me and we will get you a treat tonight."  
Alucard ignored the promise, having learned that Abraham used it frequently, and such treats were never given. The human particularly enjoyed using his hunger against him. Purposefully cutting himself on a sheet of paper, offering the tiny drop of Helsing blood then snatching it back before the vampire could taste it. Almost like a child teasing a dog with a scrap of meat. It was cruel, and Alucard hated him all the more for it, but learned to disregard any sort of promised treat.  
He climbed into the coach after his master, sitting opposite and turning to stare out the window with bored resignation. Abraham fidgeted for a few moments, looking himself over, wanting everything perfect to the last detail. Abraham looked at his vampire, frowning at the creature's attire and sighing.  
"We need to fit you for better clothing, Slave. You look horrible… I don't want you attending wearing that." Alucard slowly looked to the human, his eyes flashing. "Master, I have no intention of being near the ceremony. I've done my best to make it perfection for you, I will wait with the carriage and driver. I'll be sitting here upon your return," the vampire clarified.  
Abraham frowned, though didn't object, not believing a slave should attend such a high service anyway. "I'm changing my name as well, Slave. I'll spell the Hel with two 'L's. To bring fright to your kind. They will know what is coming for them when they hear the name. The Hellsing Organization will be born this night!"  
Alucard smiled, as if he cared greatly for the human's announcement. "Yes, Master. The beasts of London will fall by your command." He bowed his head, and then turned to stare out the window again.  
OoOoO  
Alucard stayed with the carriage the four hours of the ceremony. Three dark men had tried to approach it after the driver had left for the local tavern, but none dared approach as the vampire stepped out and snarled at them. Let them steal from the other fools. He knew if anything came up missing tonight, he would be to blame.  
Drunken laughter reached his ears, and the vampire turned to see a mass of humans exiting the grand building. His master among them. Abraham was not foolish enough to drink enough to become impaired in any way. A shame…  
Abraham stood before the vampire, grinning widely and gesturing to the vampire. Alucard tilted his head down, sliding to a knee and lowering his head. "Welcome back, Sir Hellsing." The human grinned, ruffling his slave's hair and chuckling. "Good boy. Come, let's go home."  
Alucard stood, noting Abraham was carrying a sword, his proof of knighthood. The ride back was silent, Abraham stared at his vampire. Alucard did his best to ignore him, staring out the window. His gaze narrowed, noting the unusually large number of street girls about.  
"There was a large opening production tonight, along with my knighting. It seems the whores are looking to make a profit with the drunk men wondering the streets," Abraham mused, glancing out the window then back to his vampire.  
"I promised you a treat were you to be good and keep this night perfect. Is there one you wish?" Alucard blinked, glancing at Abraham. "Food or fun?" Abraham laughed, running the tips of his fingers over the sword across his lap. "Both. No one will miss a whore, and it will probably save some poor drunken lout his money."  
The vampire stared at his master for several minutes, hardly believing what he was hearing. He hadn't had blood straight from the vein for months, nor did he expect to have any for years. Just the thought of being able to take a female also was extremely appealing, as Abraham had preached to him slaves were not allowed any such pleasures.  
Abraham chuckled, tapping the side of the carriage and calling to the driver to stop. "Come, let us find you someone, hm?" Alucard was still wary, but nodded and slid out after his master. He wasn't sure if this was going to be anther one of Abraham's teases yet again, just to watch him drool and snap at the offered treat, only to have his teeth click on thin air as it was pulled away.  
Abraham took hold of Alucard's shoulder, pulling him close to whisper in his ear. "Pick the one you like, take her to a place where no one will catch you and have your will. Leave no ghoul." He pointed to a restaurant several blocks away, and shook the vampire slightly. "I'll be waiting for you there. You have three hours." Abraham let go of the vampire, putting his hands in his pockets and not even turning back, trotting across the street and heading for the eatery.  
Alucard found he was shaking slightly, and a grin began forming on his face. So this wasn't just another tease, Abraham was actually giving him food and fun! It didn't take him long to find exactly what he wanted. The woman was fair skinned, her nearly golden eyes looking him over as he took her arm without a word.  
"It's fifty an hour, handsome," her seductive voice stated firmly. "Can you pay it?" Alucard nodded, looking down to her and smiling, being sure to keep his fangs covered. She raised an eyebrow at his eyes, but nodded, and walked with him.  
He took her in a small abandoned building, savoring every moment and ripping her throat open afterwards. Her hot blood filled his half starved body, bringing him new life and energy. Alucard made sure the body was separated from the head, keeping to his master's orders of no ghouls, then departed to rendezvous with him at the restaurant.  
OoOoO  
The days that followed were nonetheless hectic, as Abraham began hiring men from other organizations. He focused on getting those who had lost families to vampires, or had been survivors of attacks themselves. Within another four months, he found he had quite a sizable army of those very willing to his cause. With a bit of training, they would be perfect. All willing to follow God, and the mission He had given Abraham.  
Alucard stayed away from the men, keeping his presence unknown to them. Abraham didn't want them to know just yet that he kept a pet vampire; it might send the wrong message to them. They were here to kill the beasts, not domesticate them. He planned to use Alucard in missions that humans would have difficulty in, with higher class vampires or very large nests.  
Abraham paid his wife a visit after most of the main events had occurred, just to talk to the poor woman. Her insanity had been very troubling, and he worried that his son would be affected, but so far, Edward had not shown any signs of such. Abraham wrote a long letter to his son, explaining all of the events that had occurred and what he should expect upon his return from college.  
Though Abraham viewed himself taking another woman as being unfaithful to his wife, after all, she was insane, but they were still married, he did not view the using of his slave for such small pleasures as any infringement upon their marriage.  
Alucard growled, backing into a corner every time Abraham would come into his chosen room just as the sun would fall. It was always the same; ordered to his knees to serve his master, and Abraham would always leave him shortly after, curled on the floor and very disinclined to leave his room after such. Though, he did find he would drink whatever old blood was offered to him, anything to get the taste out of his mouth and memory.  
The vampire approached Hellsing one night with a request that had been running through his mind for weeks. "A companion? What do you need a companion for?" Abraham laughed, finding this request to be most amusing. Alucard stood before the man's desk, staring at a letter opener and trying to ignore his master's laughing.  
"I'm a vampire trapped in the human's world. Other than your experiments in the dungeons of course. I would like company…." Abraham continued to chuckle, leaning back in his chair and eyeing the vampire. "No. I'll not let you bring in another vampire, nor let you turn one. If you would like a companion, make friends with the other animals on the estate."  
Alucard twitched, gritting his teeth and shaking his head. "Master…you would have two slaves. It would be very beneficial for you!"  
"Alucard…I told you no. Leave, I'm sure you will be fine," Abraham shooed the vampire from his office. Alucard growled, reaching into a sleeve and withdrawing the letter opener he had swiped from Abraham's desk. The gold design glinted in the light and he grinned, always enjoying shiny things.  
He withdrew from the main manor, entering the lower levels where he had chosen his room and relocated his coffin. It was just an old storage room, but he could easily hide his coffin behind the boxes, just incase some of the troops became curious and wanted to investigate the lowers.  
Once safely in his room, Alucard crouched on the floor in a corner, pulling up a loose stone in the floor to expose his little hide away of treasures. Alucard dropped the letter opener on the top of the pile. It consisted mainly of pocket watches, necklaces, several gold coins he had tucked in the lining of his coffin from Romania, a few crystal glasses, and other small random things like the letter opener. So far no one had noticed the items missing, and he hoped they wouldn't. He enjoyed his little collection.  
Abraham's rejection of his request had been irritating. The vampire began pacing in his room, wondering if he could somehow change the man's mind. Perhaps he could change one of the maids… If there was already another vampire, and if it was someone Abraham liked, then he wouldn't be forced to kill his creation. The only problem, was the seal would keep him from doing such without the human's or his master's permission.  
Alucard sighed, sitting atop his coffin and thinking. It would be an option, but not one to be pursued, but one to defiantly be taken if he saw the opportunity to do so.  
OoOoO  
The staff doubled in the next month, and humans crawled over the estate like ants as Abraham decided to expand on the manor. He was adding an entire new wing to the left side, adding new rooms and a new library.  
Alucard reduced himself to begging Abraham for slivers more of his power, enough to hide in the shadows when humans were near. Glad for this small victory, Alucard was able to wonder the mansion without getting caught by any of the men, or the attendants. Abraham kept his experiments in the dungeons a secret from most of the men, only the generals, caretakers, and scientists knew about the vampires that were kept, and of Alucard, the master's pet.  
It was on one such evening, Alucard found his escape. He had been standing before one of the new paintings in the hallway, staring at it intensely, observing every brush stroke. A pair of maids were walking quickly around a corner, and he disappeared into the shadows, listening to their chatter. The vampire only caught snippets of the conversation, but that was all he needed.  
It had been ages since he had been able to attend a play, and he had been a fan of Shakespeare, even when the man was alive. Abraham had been pouring over reports on the training of his army when Alucard entered. The human barely looked up, continuing to scribble over a sheet of paper.  
"What do you need, Slave?" Alucard stopped at his desk, leaning on it slightly. "There is a play this Sunday, The Tempest by William Shakespeare. May I gain permission to leave the estate to see it, Master?"  
Abraham stopped writing then, looking up and setting his pen to the side to fold his hands before him. "You've been asking for a lot this past month. First a companion, then more power, now this. Planning something, Slave?" Alucard flinched, shaking his head and bowing.  
"No, Master. I would just…feel more relaxed to get a break from the confinement of the mansion." Abraham stared at Alucard through narrowed eyes, searching for some sort of lie or falsehood in the creature's words. He sighed, leaning back and glaring at the pile of paper on his desk.  
"Alright, we will both go. I need a break from this mass plague of work that has attacked my desk…."  
Alucard grinned, bowing and turning to leave. "Thank you, Master." Abraham chuckled, leaning on his elbows and shaking his head. "I did not dismiss you, Slave. Return."  
The vampire stopped dead in his tracks, knowing that even slight hesitation would mean instant correction and most likely the loss of the few privileges he had worked so hard to gain. Alucard whirled around, stopping before his desk again, head bowed. "Yes, Master?"  
Abraham pushed his chair back, reaching into a drawer to pull out a large, flat velvet box. "I've got you a gift. It just arrived today." Alucard glanced up to catch the man's sadistically gleeful expression, and shuddered, staring back at the ground.  
"It's about time the men knew about you. We can't keep you hidden forever." Abraham stepped around him, and opened the box. Alucard couldn't see what it was, deciding to keep his gaze locked on the ground at his feet. "Yes, Master." Abraham chuckled, pushing the creature's hair away from his neck. He had let it grow out a bit more, and the erratic style of it had become a nightmare for anyone to work with, so he just left it. It made the creature look fiercer anyway.  
"I need my men to tell the difference between you, and enemy vampires. Something that will show them my ownership of you," Abraham continued on, opening the small box and withdrawing a beautiful collar, slipping it around the vampire's throat. Alucard stiffened, flinching when he felt cold metal against his flesh, and heard a defining click.  
"It fits perfectly," Abraham purred, moving around the vampire to get a good view of him with the collar from all angles. The metal was black, in the front thin red etchings of a pair of bat wings stretched from the center ring, wrapping around the collar and letting the end claws meet at the back. Attached to the center D ring was a tag of the Hellsing Organization crest. Abraham grinned, flicking the tag and chuckling, turning it over to read aloud the script on the back, as his pet was not able to.  
"Alucard. Property of Sir Hellsing. This doesn't come off unless I take it off myself or give you permission to do so. Though I doubt I will ever do either." Alucard grit his fangs together, reaching up to run the tips of his fingers over the collar, feeling the etched wings in the metal and growling.  
Abraham thrummed the seal warningly at the deep sound of the vampire's growl, and Alucard instantly silenced himself, his eyes flicking to Abraham. "Good boy. You may leave the manor, but not the grounds. Stay out of the woods, remain in the yard. Let them see you, but do not attack anyone. If they attack you, flee or hide."  
The vampire flinched, nodding to Abraham and flexing his hands. "As you wish, Master. Is there anything else?" Abraham shook his head, gesturing to the door. "You may leave." Alucard strode from the office, glad for his small victory, but feeling as if it had been countered by Abraham's new item of hatred. He ran his fingers over the collar again and hissed, stepping out the main door, past a few of the new guards who stared at him with a mix of shock, curiosity, and horror.  
"What the…" Alucard could hear the small group following him, but continued to his destination. Perhaps they wouldn't be so hostile to him if he were out of reach. "Trev! Look at this!" Alucard ducked his head, letting his long hair fall into his eyes. He should have suspected this. Why couldn't Abraham just brief them himself! He growled, glancing over at the balcony to his master's office and hissed, catching sight of the man resting on the banister and watching the unfolding show. The sick sadist….  
The men slowly surrounded him, one large man stepping in front of him, blocking his path and his destination. Alucard's lip twitched, and he raised his head, locking eyes with the man. "I'm not your enemy. Step aside."  
The man laughed, and Alucard could hear chuckles around him. He was surrounded, trapped. He hated that feeling. Abraham wouldn't let him fight back. "And look at this," another beside him chuckled and reached out, flicking his collar tag. Alucard flinched to the side, crouching and raising his claws slightly, glaring at the man with glowing red eyes.  
Alucard could feel the tenseness of the group, several hands resting on weapons. "I didn't know Sir Hellsing kept a pet." He could feel one of them moving closer behind him, and growled low in his throat, flinching to the side and arching around as a knife sliced through the air where he had been. Alucard caught the human's arm, flipping him through the air and wincing at the pulse in the seal. He looked toward the manor, narrowing his eyes at the figure standing on the balcony and backed away from the fallen man.  
The others turned to him, drawing their weapons and advancing toward him. Alucard winced, showing his teeth and growling, taking a step back and whirling around as he was again circled. "What's going on over here?" Alucard glanced over at the older man advancing upon the group.  
"I thought we were supposed to kill these things, Sir! Looks like Sir Hellsing got himself a pet, we were just playing with the dog," one of the men chuckled, defending his friends.  
The general shook his head, grabbing one of the men and shoving him aside, making a getaway for the vampire. Alucard growled at them, striding past them and toward his destination, the top of the armory. No one would bother him on the top of a two-story roof…  
"We'll get you next time, Lapdog," a dark voice called behind him. Alucard didn't even glance over his shoulder, and in one leap, landed on top of the building, sitting on the roof and growling. At least he could look forward to the play.  
OoOoO  
Abraham sighed, looking over his shoulder. "Come on, Alucard! We will be late and miss the opening if you keep dragging your feet!" The vampire hissed, snatching up a pamphlet on the play and trotting after Abraham.  
They were both dressed as nobles, Abraham showing the attendant his identification as a knight to get them box seats. Alucard was glad to be wearing the fine black suit, tailored just for his frame, than having to wear the old clothes he had been dressed in for the past several months.  
They settled in their private seats just as the play started. Alucard purred, leaning back and adjusting the collar of his shirt to hide the accursed collar of his master. The play lasted about two hours, leaving both of them in good spirits and relaxed as they left. Alucard snatched a schedule and looked it over quickly, grinning at Abraham.  
"There is another one next Sunday! Can we go to that one as well, Master?" Abraham chuckled at the vampire's eagerness, and took the sheet, looking over it and chuckling. "We will discuss this upon our return, Alucard."  
OoOoO  
"In view of your extremely agreeable behavior, I'm granting you another privilege. Every Sunday, you may leave the grounds to attend a play in the city. You must return before the sun rises, and you are not to kill anyone. Understood?"  
Alucard stood before Abraham, his mouth open slightly as he listened to such an extreme privilege granted. "Yes, Master! Thank you!" The vampire purred, kneeling and bowing his head, shaking with excitement. To get out of the manor, and away from Abraham was a taste of heaven in this hell.  
"Good. If your behavior slants in any way, I'll take it away as easily I have given it to you." The vampire nodded, standing and bowing again. "Thank you, Master! I will give you no reason to take it away!" Abraham smirked, stepping forward and grabbing the creature's chin. "If you do, I'll punish you for lying as well."  
Alucard stood still, his mirth vanishing in an instant as he stared into his master's unforgiving steel blue eyes. "I understand, Master," he whispered, glad when the human released his chin and waved a dismissing hand.  
He whirled around, nearly rushing from the office and down stairs. The vampire wanted to get to his room as quickly as possible, before the sun came up so he could get a bit of rest. Alucard looked up, skidding to a stop as he nearly ran into one of the men who had ganged up on him several days ago.  
"Well well well, look who we have here. Where are you off to, Lapdog?" Alucard growled, stepping around the man. "Oh, no you don't. There isn't anyone around to help you now," the man growled, launching himself at the vampire.  
Alucard snarled, rolling to the side and curling his fingers, tensing the muscle in his hand that extended his claws. The man grinned, reaching to his hip and drawing a knife. "Ohh, so the pet can fight?" Alucard snarled, peeling his lips back to expose deadly fangs.  
"Human scum. I could tear you apart in an instant. You are nothing to this place," the vampire hissed, taking a step back. He had just gained such a high privilege, if Abraham were to come down the stairs and see this, he doubted he would be able to keep it!  
"But you can't, can you, Lapdog? I take it your owner wouldn't be too pleased with you if you even scratched me," the human retorted smugly, rushing the vampire. Alucard hissed, jumping and grasping the second story railing, launching himself over. Abraham blinked, just stepping out of his office. The vampire looked over his shoulder at the man coming up the stairs after him, and strode to the side, standing behind his master just as the man reached the top and stopped.  
"What's going on?" Abraham asked, glancing over his shoulder at the vampire then back to the man. "What is your name, Soldier?" The man glared over Abraham's shoulder at the grinning vampire.  
"Jasper, Sir Hellsing," he answered, inclining his head and saluting. Abraham nodded, remembering the man's profile. Jasper Weller. His sister had been raped and killed by a small pack nearly two years ago. He had good reason to hate vampires, it was no wonder he was harassing Alucard.  
"Leave my servant alone, unless he gives you cause. He is my property, and injuring him would be destruction of my property. I would have to dock your pay if you do so," Abraham stated simply. Alucard flinched, not sure if he could really count this as a victory against the human…or as an embarrassment.  
Jasper nodded, smirking slightly. "Yes, Sir." He saluted again, then turned and departed. Abraham turned to Alucard and raised an eyebrow. "Try to keep yourself out of trouble. I'm sure you would hate to have your Sunday privileges taken away only minutes after getting them." Alucard bowed, wincing and nodding. "Yes, Master… I shall…be wary of trouble…"  
Abraham nodded, turning from the creature to stride down the stairs. "See that you do, Slave."  
OoOoO  
Alucard growled, rolling his shoulders at the attendant. "No box seats available? Is this production that popular." She nodded, sighing. "I'm afraid so…sorry, Sir." Alucard huffed, running a hand through his hair and looking through the seating chart. "What about the ground seats? How many are left?" She shook her head, looking through her chart and frowning. "Um…we may have a seat left in sections D or F."  
"What?" Alucard's hackled raised, and he leaned his palms down on the desk, leaning over to glare at the woman, his red eyes flashing. "Do you need a seat, Sir? I have an extra ticket if you would like to take a box with me." Alucard turned from the frightened attendant and frowned at the woman behind him, tilting his head to the side. "Are you sure?" She nodded, smiling. "Yes, my date and I had an argument earlier, so I'm here by myself. I would be honored if you joined me, Sir." Alucard straightened, smiling down at her. "Thank you."  
She smiled, handing her tickets to the woman and nodding. "I know where the seats are, no need to show us." She took Alucard's arm and led him up the stairs, entering her box. "Here we are. My name is Antigone Vale. Yours?" Alucard lowered himself gracefully into the seat, smiling at the unrestricted view of the stage.  
"Call me…Alucard," he smiled, looking at her in a new light. Antigone. The character from a great Greek play. A woman with a great mind, who eventually fell because of it.  
Antigone smiled, chuckling and sitting beside him in her own chair, laughing. "How mysterious. What an exotic name. Where are you from?" Alucard settled himself, getting comfortable and glad for the conversation before the play.  
"Romania. And yes, I suppose it is exotic. Thank you." Antigone's grin widened and she ran a hand through her shoulder length, slightly curled blonde hair. "I should have guessed. You must not have lived here long, your accent is still noticeable."  
Alucard chuckled, turning more to her and grinning, careful to keep his fangs hidden. "Ahh, you've guessed me exactly! I've lived here for nearly a year. I must say, I'm fascinated with the English culture."  
Antigone leaned forward, staring at his eyes and furrowing her brow. "Your eyes…what's wrong with them?" Alucard blinked, smirking and leaning back from her. "A genetic fluke. Nothing is 'wrong' with them. I believe it's interesting to be different…strange."  
She laughed, holding up her hands and shaking her head. "Oh, I meant no offence! I was just…intrigued." Alucard held a hand up to her, shaking his head. "I did not, I believe we are about to start." He smiled, gesturing to the stage.  
After the play, Alucard walked her to her carriage, chatting with her about next Sunday's play. They made a date, scheduling to meet at the door of the building in a week. He bowed to her, smiling. "I shall see you then, Miss. Vale."  
The months following remained event free. Alucard would meet Antigone at the doorway of the theater every Sunday. Alucard made a point to stay out of the way of many of the troops, growling when Abraham supplied them with pistols and silver bullets. Soon, it became difficult to hide what he was from Antigone. They started just meeting at the theater then not attending the play, leaving for dinner at a nearby café.  
When he told her, showed her, her surprise was not as great as he would have thought. It was as if she had suspected what he was for weeks. She stared at him, leaning against the wall of the ally he had led her down.  
"Amazing," she gasped, staring up at his fangs. "May I?" She reached up carefully to his mouth. The vampire nodded, opening his mouth wider and closing his eyes as he felt her run her fingertips over each saber fang. Alucard shuddered, opening his eyes and catching her wrist, closing his lips around her finger and running the tip of his pointed tongue lightly over it.  
Antigone stared at him, then her gaze softened, and she gently pulled her hand back, running it to his shoulder and pulling him down lightly, kissing his lips. "You taste like old blood…and smell like yellow book pages." Alucard smiled down at her, catching her chin with a hook of her finger and kissing her lightly.  
"You taste like fine wine, and smell like a virgin sacrifice." She stared at him, then laughed, taking his arm in hers and leading them out of the ally. "You are not frightened?" Alucard stared down at her, slightly confused. Antigone shook her head, laughing. "I've been around you, and known you for months. I already know I have nothing to fear from you."  
OoOoO  
Abraham stepped from the theater, leaning against the wall and waiting until all the guests had exited. His frown deepened. Alucard was not among them. Nor had he attended the play. This night he had been able to leave shortly after the vampire, thinking to surprise the beast at the play and check up on him. He had not seen the creature anywhere. It seemed his slave was keeping secrets from him…  
OoOoO  
"Alucard." The vampire turned hearing his master's voice, and tilted his head. He had just left the roof, coming down the steps from the attic. He enjoyed sitting on the roof on such nights like this. "Come with me, Slave," his master ordered. The vampire frowned, following Abraham to his office and stopping before the desk as Abraham moved around it to sit in the chair, folding his hands upon the surface.  
"Did you enjoy the play last night, Alucard?" Abraham smiled in such a non-threatening way, that Alucard couldn't help but relax slightly and nod. "Yes, Master. Oedipus Rex has always been one of my favorites." Abraham chuckled, leaning back and standing. He pulled open a drawer on his desk, withdrawing a long silver rod, much like the one from his earlier days, but this one had been obviously engineered for him; longer, thicker, and solid, blessed silver.  
Abraham set it on his desk, and then withdrew the whip, eliciting a frightened gasp from Alucard, who took a step back at the sight of the item. Abraham smiled at the vampire, leaning forward on his desk, both palms flat; one hand next to the whip, the other next to the rod.  
"Now, your next words will determine what you will be punished with. I was at the play, Slave. I know you were not there. You are about to learn a hard lesson about lying to me. Where were you?" Abraham yelled, his blue eyes burning with fury.  
Alucard began to tremble, closing his eyes and lowering his head, facing the floor. "I was wondering the city, Master."  
"Wondering the city? And what were you doing?"  
"Tracking random humans, Sir. Following them for the amusement of it."  
Abraham narrowed his eyes more, straightening and crossing his arms. "Hunting?" Alucard shook his head quickly, shuddering.  
"No, Master. I was only tracking them…hunting could be used to describe it, but not using your idea. It was hunting…without any violence, feeding, or knowledge of me following them, Master." It was partly true. Though he dreaded getting caught in another lie, he dreaded his master finding out about Antigone much more.  
"I see…" Abraham picked up the rod, moving around the desk and standing in front of Alucard. Without warning, he slammed the rod into the side of his slave's head, eliciting a cry of surprise and agony from the beast. Alucard fell to the side, landing on his side on the floor and wrapping an arm around the wound, as if trying to hold his skull together. He was disoriented from the blow, trying to straighten his thoughts and blink stars from his vision.  
"Do not lie to me!" Abraham bellowed, slamming the rod into Alucard's side. The sharp sound of a snapping rib echoed about the room, along with the vampire's second fear filled cry.  
"Master! I did not lie! It was the truth!" Alucard managed to drag himself to his knees, an arm wrapped around his chest, helping ease the rib back in place as his body fought to heal it. The vampire swayed slightly, still trying to recover himself from the blow to his head.  
"For your sake, you had better not be," Abraham replied darkly. "I'm not going to take away your Sunday privileges, not yet. You will, however, not be going this Sunday as we work out new rules to encircle your wonderings as well."  
Alucard sighed gratefully, daring to look up at his master and nod. "Thank you, Master," he whispered, still trembling. "We will see how grateful you are after I'm done with you. On your feet!" The vampire scrambled to his feet, shuddering again and standing before his master with his head bowed. "Strip," Abraham ordered bluntly, sliding the rod into his belt and moving to his chair to retrieve his coat. He reached into his desk yet again, drawing out a black, woven leash.  
He turned back to Alucard as he slipped his coat on and narrowed his eyes when he noticed the vampire had not moved. "You've just doubled your punishment for hesitation. When I tell you to do something, you do it! Understood?" Abraham punctuated his command with a harsh reminder of the seal's power.  
Alucard screamed, falling to his knees and nearly ripping his clothes from his body in an effort to stop the pain. Abraham stood in front of the beast, glaring down at him, but secretly delighting in him being completely exposed but for his collar, which shone brightly from his neck.  
Abraham crouched down, clipping the end of his leash onto the vampire's collar, and then jerking it sharply as he strode toward the door. Alucard shuddered, scrambling to his feet and following closely behind his master, wincing and flinching when they stepped out into the sunrise. Abraham looked over his shoulder at the vampire, noting his tolerance for the light to be much better.  
"Does it burn you?" Alucard shook his head, wincing. "I feel it burn slightly, but it doesn't effect my flesh so much…only a type of human like sunburn if I'm in if for over two hours." He had tested this himself one morning, surprised to find his new immunity from Abraham's sunroom sessions.  
"Good, then I can take my time." He led the vampire into the edge of the gardens; easily within view from his balcony, and unhooked the leash, picking up a chain that had been attached to a tall pole he had had erected earlier that day when his vampire was asleep.  
"This will be your new home for the next few days," Abraham stated, reaching into his belt to pull out the rod. "Down," he commanded. Alucard winced, dropping to his knees and trembling, already knowing the bite of silver, and not wanting to endure it again.  
Several of the guards looked on with curiosity from their posts, several sending their partners to the barracks and training grounds to alert the others to the show. Alucard whined, growling lowly when he noticed the growing crowed around the walls. His mortification was short lived as Abraham slammed the rod into his back with punishing force.  
"YOU WILL NEVER LIE TO ME AGAIN!" he yelled fiercely. Alucard cried out, twisting to the side and keening from the burn left in his back. Abraham grabbed his hair, jerking him upright again and keeping a tight grip on the black mass as he slammed the rod over the same place on his back again, deepening the wound.  
Alucard's screams filled the air as Abraham taught him a lesson he would not easily forget. He threw the trembling and bleeding beast to the ground, tucking the rod into his belt then turning and departing. Before he passed the men, he glared at them, pointing to Alucard.  
"None of you touch him. He is my property, and I will dock any new damages to my property from your salary."  
Though they heckled the creature, no one physically bothered the vampire for the days he was chained outside. Sunday had arrived finally, and Alucard leaned against the pole, wounds healed from being fed plenty, though not the best quality. Abraham retrieved him as a storm blew over London, pouring rain and lightning down on the city and the estate.  
Alucard was glad to not be chained out in the rain, and sat before the fire in Abraham's study, happy for it's warmth from the chilled November air. Abraham shed his great red coat, wrapping it over the back of his chair and staring down at the vampire with his arms crossed.  
"Have you learned your lesson?" Alucard nodded, not daring to look up at the man. His flesh burned from being chained in the sunlight for so long and for six days consecutively. "And what did you learn?"  
Alucard trembled, adjusting his position slightly before the fire. "Never lie to a Master," he whispered. Abraham nodded, crouching to set a bowl of warmed blood in front of his slave.  
"Drink, we will discuss new terms to your Sunday privileges." Alucard nodded, draining the bowl in a matter of seconds and licking his lips and fags afterward. Abraham tossed a set of clothes at him next, ordering him to dress.  
"I will allow you to wonder London, on the condition you will not be allowed to perform any sort of violence. No feeding, no attacking anything, not even a rock or a cat, nothing." The vampire nodded, already figuring those rules.  
"Good, now leave. I have a few letters to write and I don't want you sitting in here distracting me." Alucard stood, bowing and departing quickly, glad to be free of the man's wrath and his presence.  
OoOoO  
Antigone grinned when she saw him arrive, crossing her arms and tossing her head back smugly. "You didn't come last week. Did a bit of rain scare you away?" she teased him. Alucard chuckled; leaning down to kiss her lightly then shake his head. "No… have something else to tell you Miss. Vail." He took her arm, looking over his shoulder and leading her to their normal café.  
"You see, I'm not free," he stated upon their arrival to their usual table. She frowned at him, raising an eyebrow and chuckling. "Not free? What do you mean by that."  
"I'm a slave…to a human. He found out I wasn't at the play last time…and I was punished for lying." He shook his head at her alarm and raised a hand to silence her as she opened her mouth. "Do not worry, milady. I'm fine. That was the reason I could not come."  
Antigone frowned, digesting this new information, and then leaning on the table to stare at him. "Who is he then? Who is this man that…owns you?" Alucard flinched, reaching up to pull his shirt down, exposing the collar fitted tightly around his neck. The tag swung free from its restraint under the fabric, shining the crest to her eyes. "A man by the name of Abraham Van Hellsing. You see, he hunted me a year ago, capturing me upon my defeat. The anniversary of my capture is in two weeks actually," Alucard tucked the collar back under his shirt, then pulled off one of his black gloves to show her the seal, burned and branded forever into the back of his hand.  
"I cannot defy him. I have tried, and the outcome is not favorable." Antigone stared at the brand, resting her hand over her mouth. "Oh my God…I read about him. He was knighted at the beginning of this year…" Alucard nodded, chuckling. "Yes, he was. What I need to stress to you, is that if I am unable to come…. don't wait too long. If he catches a pattern, or even that I am speaking to you, it will be bad for both of us."  
Antigone frowned, thinking and leaning back, folding her hands in her lap. "Then why don't you turn me?" Alucard stared at her, replacing his glove and folding his hands on the table. "I could with your consent, though if he ever found out, it would be fatal for you, and devastating for me." She looked up, grinning at him and chuckling. "You sound as if you don't like taking risks, Alucard." The vampire chuckled, starting to laugh. His red eyes flashed and he rested his chin upon his hands.  
"Very well. Let us then. It is a gamble…but what fun is everlasting life without a bit of risk?"  
OoOoO  
Alucard could never have imagined how foolish such a venture had been. He did now, as he stared up at a furious, whip wielding Abraham. He never even found out how the man had found them.  
She had taken him to her apartment at a planned time the next Sunday, and it was there the turning was to take place. With her permission, he was able to bypass the seals and sink his ivory fangs into her sweet flesh. The young virgin rested in his arms as her body changed, her eyes slowly turning red.  
"It's like I've been blind all this time…everything looks, smells, feels so different!" Alucard purred, laying with her upon the bed and holding her close. "Shhh. Rest. You will be able to explore your new abilities when you are fully changed."  
Alucard's eyes widened. He heard the unmistakable footsteps only seconds before the door was kicked in. "Slave!" Abraham stood whip in hand before them, glaring with such seething rage it almost looked as if he were a emitting an aura.  
"Master…." Alucard shuddered, letting go of Antigone and standing, backing up. Abraham glanced at the girl, narrowing his eyes at the still healing marks on her throat. "How dare you? Kill her, now! You are commanded to do so by your Master, Slave! Do as you are told!"  
Alucard flinched, unable to defy such a direct order. The vampire stood, his eyes full of sadness and terror as he approached her, raising a clawed hand and tearing her heart from her chest in a fluid motion. "Antigone…" he whined, holding her to his chest as she dusted, the wind from the window erasing her from existence forever.  
Abraham dropped the whip, slamming the door behind him and striding to his slave. Gripping him by the collar, Abraham flung the beast onto the bed and began undressing. Alucard grunted, sitting up quickly and staring at Abraham with wide eyes. "What are you doing?" The seal slammed into him, causing him to scream and curl into a ball on the soft blankets. He trembled, terrified of what he knew was about to happen, but still trying to deny it in his mind.  
He felt his master grab his collar again, releasing the seal and flipping him to his back. "Master, please don't do this!" Abraham answered him by relieving him of his clothing, and holding him onto the bed with a firm, unforgiving grip.  
"So, you're lonely. Is that why you defied me? Is that why you went against my command and infected a young woman with your disease?" Alucard trembled, glancing down and hardly believing Abraham was exited in such a state of fury.  
"Please…don't." Alucard pushed against the man's chest, trembling and fighting his own mind, trying to beat down the memories of a tormented childhood from welling up. Abraham gripped his wrists tightly, holding him down. "Scream for me, Slave," Abraham snarled.  
The vampire's struggles and pleas did not stop Abraham, or slow him down in the least. Alucard threw his head back, crying out his torment and hatred. Thin trails of blood tears ran from his eyes at Abraham's brutality.  
"Not enjoying yourself? And here I wanted to give you what you wanted. I can't have my slave lonely. We will have to fix this." Abraham narrowed his eyes, mentally lifting and pulling at the seal. Alucard's eyes shot open and he gasped. Abraham let go of his wrists, allowing the vampire to wrap his arms around his waist, and chuckled as the creature began actively participating.

Chapter 11: Experimentation

After that night nearly a year ago, everything had changed drastically. He was lucky Abraham had not castrated him in the mood the human was in upon their return to the grounds. Abraham had ordered his vampire stripped but for his collar, and chained in a holding cell immediately. The attendants easily overpowered the creature with their serums, drugging the beast and obeying their boss's orders.  
At first, he had thought he was in Hell. Abraham tortured him for weeks. Bleeding him the very next day until he was on his last dregs, then feeding him only the poorest quality blood once every few days. Abraham would feed him dead animal's blood; worse than rotten food for a human, but Alucard could not pass up any drop. If he did, Abraham would not feed him for over a week, letting him starve until he was fully cooperative in draining whatever was given to him, and licking the bowl clean.  
He was beaten for weeks as well. Every night, for a few hours when Abraham would have spare time, he would pay the vampire a visit. He would bring whatever instrument had appealed to him that night with him, and enact terrors upon his slave until the beast could not drag its form from the grime covered floor. After the first four or five weeks, Abraham spaced his visits of this manor out between days, then weeks. By his fourth month in the small cell, chained on mere feet of chain to the wall, Alucard cowered back every time the door was opened. He was never sure if it would bring food, or pain.  
Alucard's insanity grew. He would catch himself staring at a certain part of the cell for hours, counting dust, or reliving a long lost memory from his human days. At every visit, Abraham would seem larger, more terrifying than the last time he had seen the human. There were times Alucard would find himself unable to understand English. Abraham standing over him, snarling out orders in a language he suddenly didn't understand wrecked havoc upon his mind. If he tried to speak, Abraham would only increase his efforts to make the vampire suffer, snarling something about being sick of hearing the Romanian accent.  
At that point, Alucard made a point to rid himself of everything from his human life, including his accent, and hopefully his mannerisms. Even when Abraham was not in the cell with him, torturing him, the human found ways to make the creature miserable. Alucard would stretch out against the wall to sleep in daylight hours, or what he hoped was daylight hours. So many blows to the head had scrambled his internal workings, and might have offset his internal clock. Abraham would suddenly slam down on the seal for no reason, pressing his anger and twisting it like a blade into the sleeping vampire. Alucard would wake in terrible agony, thrashing on the floor against an enemy woven into his own makeup, and his own mind.  
Trying to rid himself of this pain, Alucard began tearing at himself, ripping at his own flesh in madness. Though it had healed in the beginning, there was not enough life force in his body to keep up the effort. Abraham would enter a cell, finding the walls and floor caked with fresh blood, and an exhausted, torn vampire huddled against the wall. In an effort to stop this, Abraham chained Alucard's arms behind him, locking his elbows and wrists together tightly in metal coils. He strapped a bar into the creature's mouth to keep him from biting himself as well, though it made it considerably difficult to feed; Abraham would not remove it for the rare feeding visits, enjoying seeing the beasts struggle.  
It was that horrible day that he truly learned, that this was not Hell. He found, he had no idea what Hell was… But also found…he was about to learn.  
OoOoO  
A splash of cool water to his face helped him regain his hold on reality. Even then, everything continued to swim and buck from whatever they had put into his system. The doctor peered up at him, then nodded and mumbled something to another nearby whom Alucard could not see.  
The vampire hung by his wrists to chains attached to the ceiling. Months ago when they had first taken him out of the cell at Abraham's order, the doctors had drilled tiny holes in his gums, wiring his mouth tightly shut. An incision in his cheek allowed a tube to pass into his mouth, behind his teeth, and down his throat. It was the only way he could be fed, and for the doctors to pump whatever chemical they wanted him to ingest without fight. Wires pierced his body at every main segment, each designed to perform a different task.  
He never saw Abraham in this place, nor did he ever catch a scent of the man. It was as if his master had abandoned him to this place as a final, and complete, everlasting punishment. The only symbol that Abraham still had any self claim to the vampire was the collar about his neck. It was never removed, the doctors worked around this when they wanted to do anything to his throat.  
Alucard saw other vampires occasionally, when the doctors dragged them into his room for whatever horror they wished. One thing he did notice, not many of these poor creatures left this room whole. Most left in bowls of dust, having not withstood the chemicals.  
"Keep him awake," a voice mumbled somewhere near him. "We need him awake to record the reaction to the concoction."  
The vampire groaned, hardly understanding the words, but hearing the voices let him know they were still here, and not done. Someone grabbed his chin, forcing his head back.  
"Hold him still, this is going to be difficult…" More hands materialized against his head, holding the starved vampire immobile. A breath he realized he had not been holding escaped through his nose, and he tried to move, finding himself easily overpowered by the humans.  
Fingers pushed his eyelids back, exposing the dull red orb to bright lights. The pupil narrowed considerably, contracting like a lizard's. Alucard flinched at the light, whispering a sad hiss through his bound jaws. He was unable to focus on the object moving slowly toward his eye, but couldn't fight. He had no more energy, nor no more will to fight back.  
The needle pierced inside the narrow pupil with expert skill from the doctor. Alucard did not even flinch or make a sound when the cold metal entered his eye, but when the liquid was slowly forced into it, he began to fight, though weakly. As more of the deep blue liquid filled the sensitive organ, Alucard fought with more power, low cries escaping his bound jaws. The doctor pulled the needle out once it was empty and observed the interesting colour change, from red to purple.  
They did the same to his second eye, making notes and records then departing for the night. Alucard hung in his restraints, trembling and squeezing his eyes shut from the burn. It felt as if someone had pierced the area between his eyes with a solid silver spear. After nearly an hour, the pain wore away. Though he wasn't sure it was gone, more like he had learned to ignore pain all together, to focus his mind elsewhere so it appeared as if pain was nonexistent and no longer affected his being.  
Alucard raised his head slightly, trying to focus in the pitch darkness of the room. This was odd… Even in the deepest of darkness his eyes would view everything as well as a human would in the daylight. And even then, the doctors would leave several lights on anyway. Why couldn't he see anything? A terrible fear hit him, the fear that he was blind.  
Three days passed, and Alucard noticed his vision beginning to return slowly. The odd thing was, it seemed his perfect vampire vision was, somehow, better. Even in a groggy state, he was able to focus on objects across the room with amazing accuracy for a vampire.  
OoOoO  
Abraham had ignored his vampire's plight for the two years following Alucard's turnover to the doctors. He had instructed them to repeat experiments on his vampire that had succeeded on other vampires. Basically, he ordered them to improve the beast, make him stronger and more deadly than any other supernatural beast.  
Though he checked with the doctors on Alucard's progress, he never visited the creature, knowing his presence would activate the seal to make the vampire calm, relaxed, and hopeful. So far he had learned the creature's power had been magnified by several hundreds. Though the full extent of this could not be measured until he unlocked the seals. It now had a resistance to most banes of the vampire species. Alucard was no longer affected by extremes in heat, cold, and light. Garlic nor crosses effected him either.  
From the reports, he had learned the doctors were now working to improve the physical functions of the vampire, Improving his sight, hearing, and other scenes, as well as making him stronger in a physical sence. Soon, it would be time to visit his pet, but for now, the reports were plenty for him. Hopefully, the creature would still have some sort of mind after this was finished. Alucard looked close to breaking in the cell, perhaps now the vampire would be fully broken and ready to obey any command. Some part of him hoped against this, rather enjoying the challenge and fun of punishing and controlling his slave.  
OoOoO  
As the doctors continued to inject strange chemicals and magic's into his system and organs, Alucard was suffering a terrible internal battle. The last threads of his mind were fraying, slipping away from him. There was nothing left to fight for, the pain was the only thing pushing him anymore. In those days, Alucard made a strange bond to the pain, finding it to be the only sensation that he could understand anymore, and rejoiced when he felt it.  
It was on one of those days, Alucard hung in his chains, staring at the doctors with his now bright red, hellish eyes, and as much of a sneer as he could manage, waiting eagerly for them to bring the pain to him with more of their terrors. Even in his starved state, with bones protruding from his body, his eyes were bright with insanity and the promise of death. Abraham happened to pay them a visit.  
The man stood at the doorway, staring at his vampire with a strange look on his face. Alucard's eyes narrowed and a low purr rumbled in his chest in pleasure. The seal affected him as if Abraham were a drug, giving him a pleasurable high feeling that made him want to be close to the human.  
"Why has he not been fed? Have you not been taking care of my property?" Abraham glared at the doctors, who were looking a bit embarrassed.  
"Sorry Sir Hellsing. We've been so caught up in his progress…."  
"That you've failed to see his proper care." Abraham finished for the man, frowning then turning to Alucard and walking around the beast slowly. "Release him and give him a one week resting period. How is the progress?"  
The men brightened slightly, and the head doctor stepped forward. "We are almost through with the main improvements. We have yet to understand fully what we have done until you release his restrictions though. His physical aspects have sky rocketed."  
The doctor smiled nodding toward the strange gleam in Alucard's eyes. "We have also discovered something odd. He seems to relish pain, Sir." Abraham's brows furrowed, and he looked hard at Alucard, staring into the swimming orbs.  
"Is that so? Well, future punishments should be quite a joy then, wouldn't you say Alucard?" Abraham chuckled, turning away from the vampire after he teased him, and opened his mouth to ask another question of the doctors.  
Without a doubt, Master. My Master. You aren't going to take me from this fun are you? Not so soon.  
Abraham blinked, turning quickly and narrowing his eyes at the vampire. "Have any of you toyed with the seal?" Instantly the doctors were on alert, flinching at the obvious signs of building anger in Abraham's voice.  
"We've not touched any of the deep magics Sir." The head doctor replied, albeit nervously. Abraham leaned closer to the hollowed face of his vampire, narrowing his eyes at the insanity filled orbs.  
"How can you speak to me mentally? All mental powers were locked behind the seal."  
A slight rumble filtered through Alucard's bound jaws, and even in his extreme starved state, he had the strength to hold his head up and open his eyes wide toward the human. The pupils narrowed, focusing his entire attention to his master.  
You don't know? Perhaps you should wonder, My Master, if the seal expands with my power. Perhaps bits of it is seeping through the cracks. A chuckle rumbled in his chest again, and he tossed his head back, letting the long, tangled locks of white hair snap back over his shoulder.  
Orders, Master. Order me! Let me feel your power. Test it against my own!

Chapter 12: Darkness Rising

Journal Entry #462  
It has been some days since I've last written, so I shall recount all of the events on these sacred pages. I've become slightly agitated with Alucard. After releasing him from the labs some days ago, I've been noticing extreme differences in his actions and behavior. The first was not moments of leaving the labs. Walking with him behind me, I looked over my shoulder to check his progress, for his steps were as silent as death. It seemed as if there was a new power to his movements. (At this I have to wonder if the reports of his experiments were all what was done to him. I shall question the doctors about this later.) Alucard looked wrath like, but that was only the extreme starvation he had endured. But, it was as if, with starvation he gained a new power. He seemed very feral now, much more so than before. It was as if the gentleman mask he had always worn had been shattered, exposing the beast below. There was an odd glow in the vampire's eyes. Where, before, when he was starved, there was no light, only dullness. I have to wonder, is this new light the product of his madness, or something else altogether.  
Later that same night, I called several of the caretakers to bring one of the condemned prisoners up, so my vampire might be fed. For, surely the beast was hungry. During this time, Alucard made no comments, hardly any movement at all. He only stood to the side, watching everyone. I feel he watches me the closest, and I find that unnerving, though I will not admit this to anyone. I can't help but feel the monster is planning something.  
When the man was brought in, he was removed from his chains and thrown towards Alucard. At this time, the caretakers left in quite a hurry, and I kept my back to the door, and a hand on my gun. Starving vampires are notorious for their ferocity.  
Alucard did not lunge with his normal vigor for the kill. He had played with the man, teasing him with snaps as a fox plays with its catch. The vampire delighted in the man's screams, even striking like a viper, biting an arm, shoulder, side…(Here an ink blot smears the last few words, as if Abraham had set his pen down a moment) It was a drug to the creature. The feral grin never left the vampire's face. It gave him a doglike look, the way his fangs shone, and the way his smaller sharp teeth dripped with saliva at each playful strike towards the prisoner.  
Now, I wonder if I should have shot the poor man. For, this seemed to be the true Dracula, the warlord and bloody prince of legend who had delighted in torturing and killing others as slowly as possible. I wonder if there had been a coat rack or some other implement in the room, if Alucard would have impaled him on it.  
The vampire was too quick for being starved, his reactions too fast, like a blue. When he finally did end his game, clamping his jaws around the man's throat, Alucard behaved most feraly, shaking his head slightly, like a dog, to open the other's throat.  
Alucard also did something else I had never seen him do. The vampire seemed to lose his appetite half through finishing the man. It was as if, suddenly, the man's blood was no longer appealing. My eyes followed the corpse, watching as blood still ran from the torn throat. When I looked up, he was grinning, open mouthed at me.  
It was quite a sight, blood dripping from his red stained teeth. Gazing at his eyes, I suddenly felt as if the vampire had sunk talons into my very brain, squeezing. It only took me a moment to realize this was either his trying to read my mind, or trying to mentally control me. Whatever the case, I couldn't concentrate to use the seal against him, though I could concentrate to pull my gun and fire a silver bullet into his right shoulder.  
This was the moment I realized something that frightened me. What if he was correct? How much power was leaking through the seal? How much longer can I control Dracula? It was as if the seal did not exist any longer, only our wills.  
I have no doubt that the beast will push the seal far beyond his own limits to kill me. I shall have to take precautions, do more research and find a way to strengthen the seal, for surely it appeared as if his power had grown thus it could not contain him much longer.  
When I shot him, I saw the first falter in the continuous feral grin. He stepped back once, clutching his shoulder as a thin line of smoke rose between his fingers. He snarled at me then, like a wolf enraged. I delighted at the sound, for it meant him frustrated, and even more when I saw the brands on his hands glow bright red. It was a signal that the seal had activated against him as he pushed against, or defied it.  
Alucard lengthened his claws, and with a speed I admit I could not follow, ripped a chunk of flesh from his own shoulder. The line of smoke rising from the meant clarified that it indeed contained the silver bullet.  
I did not want to let the beast run freely over the compound as I had before, for I could already foresee the destruction he would cause. Nor did I want to confine him in one of the lower cells. I wanted to keep a close eye on him, to see how much of his power was seeping through.  
To a wall ring in the main hall, I attached an eight foot steel plated silver chain, and the other end to his collar. I made sure he could reach nothing, and also briefed all the house servants on him so they would know to stay clear. Though he sat still for several hours, I could hear him late into the night, pacing, pulling at the chain, and making the oddest and most frightening animal like noises.  
I've left him there for the past two weeks, feeding him every few days, for he never seems to eat his fill, nor eat the entire human he is given.  
His countenance has gotten no better; he still remains the white haired wrath that I brought from the labs. I wonder why he does not feed, for he is surely starving. It is as if he wants to remain in this stare for some reason, and eats only enough so he will regress no more. I've tried being firm with him, as I was before, but he does not speak, and only grins at me as I threaten.  
I feel he is invading my thoughts without my knowledge. At times I can feel a feather coolness creeping through my mind, but he is nowhere near. I wonder if he is using the seal against me now. I ray not. I shall have to put an end to this very soon, or he will be free, and my estate will become a forest of impaled, as his own castle was hundreds of years ago.  
Abraham Van Hellsing  
Alucard growled low in his throat as he watched a small group of maids pass for the hallway. They knew he could not reach them, but it did little to ease their minds. Few of the staff that had been at the manor four years ago remained. None of these people had seen him before, though there was talk of Abraham's special vampire.  
Abraham had drawn a wide arch around him. It was the no pass line for the mortals. It extended several feet from the end of his chain, but accommodated his arm reach. No matter how much he pulled, jerked, or chewed at the chain, he could not remove, or break it. The collar was equally infuriating, for the magic etched into it was beyond his reach.  
Alucard had taken to climbing the wall for amusement lately. He was clothed once again in the belted restraint suit, but had no shoes or anything to cover his hands. This was just as well; his claws helped him cling to the wall like a spider, then jump out at the maids or messengers as they rounded the corner. The chain always snapped him up far short, but again, it was amusing.  
This little game lasted for amusement until Abraham came down from his office, tiring of the screams and clattering of dishes, to yell at him a bit.  
And this became his newest game. How best to annoy and anger his master. Alucard felt no fear from the seal, no from the sun or many other banes of his kind. Silver was the only thing that truly brought him pain, and because of this, he wanted to make sure to never anger Abraham enough to use the whip.  
It was his annoying and mischievous games that kept Abraham distracted. The beginnings of his plan. Though the seal still hurt him incredibly, enough to keep him at bay, it was cracking from the effort of containing him. Though Abraham did not know it, the seal was fueled by his life energy. If Alucard kept him ignorant long enough, and distracted him with foolish games, there was a powerful chance the seal could drain Abraham's life force and kill him. There was the troubling reminder in the back of his mind, Abraham's first warning. If the seal broke, so would his mind. Alucard could only laugh at this, for his mind was already broken.  
Until then, Alucard paced, playing with the new powers available to him, yet never reveling all that was granted to him, he practiced those late into the night while Abraham slept. His hunger tore at him, never satisfied, but the trash Abraham fed him was disgusting. The experiments had enhanced his senses, his taste as well. He could taste the sin on these mortals' blood. A new ability seemed to have been unlocked as well, for in the blood he drank, he stole the mortal's memories, and their knowledge. For this, he was more than eager to get only a drop of Abraham's. With what he was fed now, he was gaining memories of foolish men, and only the knowledge of the city of London.  
This was all he needed. If he was ever free from this chain, he had a mental map of the entire city. Abraham seemed determined to keep him close at heel though.  
That was fine, he was seeing the world through Abraham's eyes. The seal provided a link between the two of them, much like his own bite would to a human. Abraham had more power than he realized, though Alucard was happy to keep this knowledge to himself for as long as possible. But, Alucard was also provided with a bridge to the man's mind.  
What fun it would be to play with him, at least until he figured out what was happening. Alucard growled, sliding to the floor to lean against the wall. He smiled slightly, leaning his head back so that locks of his long white hair fell from his face. Closing his eyes, he traveled down the seal. His master was in London on business, but it did not matter. This seal did not care about distance.  
OoOoO  
Abraham blinked, feeling that faint cool feathery touch moving about in his brain again. The sensation came more often than not, making him believe it may be Alucard's intrusion, but each time it happened, Alucard was far, sometimes miles away. By his reasoning, and experience, vampires could not read another's mind unless they were at least within visual range of their target. The worry remained that it might be Alucard, but just like all the times before, the thought was lost in a tirade of other thoughts. His human patients, his son and wife, the meeting he was about to have, and many others. The worry of Alucard was lost.  
Alucard's body rested, appeared to be asleep against the wall, as was common during the day. His mind, however, was far from where his body lay. Inside Abraham's mind, with the aid of the seal, Alucard found it exceptionally easy to drown any thought he did not want Abraham to have. To see the sunlit world through human eyes was both a joy and a frustration. To see well in daylight was a dream. But the human's vision was very limited compared to vampire vision, and now, with the aid of the Hellsing's experiments and enhances, it was even more so.  
The vampire caught thoughts from Abraham's mind that made him chuckle. Thoughts and worries of his pet vampire plotting against him, and actually having the means and abilities to do so. Alucard quickly drowned out this thought with a tirade of other worries that floated about.  
Abraham and Alucard looked with the same eyes out a window, enjoying the view of the city from the carriage. Abraham frowned, rubbing a temple with his fingers. Oddly, he had been momentarily overcome by an extremely complex thought of London. It was as if he had been thinking of twelve things at the same time, and at an extraordinary speed. His mind had filled for only a bare second of a blueprint of London, above and below ground. For only that moment, he knew every little crevice that had and did exist in the city.  
Immediately his mind flew to the vampire. There was no denying it now; Alucard had found a way in. Other thoughts fought to cover this realization, but he would not allow the vampire to thwart him again. Summoning his will, Abraham shoved the other thoughts to the side, and tried to fill his mind with calm nothingness.  
It took a few minutes to succeed, for the vampire was not giving up without a fight, but once it seemed to realize he could not win, the thoughts stopped. Once his mind was calm, Abraham went for the seal, slamming his mental will down with powerful force, twisting it into the vampire. The feathery coolness immediately retreated from his mind, but Abraham did not let up, twisting and crushing his will and the seal against the vampire.  
He threw a single thought in, mixing it with his will to twist into the vampire, and then eased up slowly. Smiling that he has thwarted the vampire at this turn, Abraham leaned back in his carriage. Though, he could not dismiss the worry that Alucard was planning something much more deadly.  
OoOoO  
Alucard had taken a habit to creeping into his master's mind every so often when he was away. In each mental visit, he was able to quell Abraham's worry about him, thus alluding notice.  
Some how, this visit went wrong. As he looked through Abraham's eyes at the passing London, the mental map he had formed from the knowledge in the blood of criminals had risen. This thought must have slipped his hold and mixed with Abraham's thoughts.  
Alucard tried to mask it, or overwhelm the sudden suspicion, then realization with other thoughts, but was unable. In Abraham's mind, while he was aware, Abraham was the most powerful he had expected the seal to come, and had certainly expected it to be harsh, but not quite this much.  
Agony slammed into him, and he retreated from Abraham's mind instantly. Back into his own form, Alucard screeched and writhed upon the floor. His own claws tore at his chest, hands, and sides of his head where the pain thrummed. A maid who had heard the commotion and come running, stood with a hand over her mouth as the obviously insane creature snapped.  
A thick red haze settled over his vision, and he felt the impossible weight of the seal crush him against the floor, ending his struggles and cries so only muscle spasms and a gurgling cry could escape.  
Lightening tore through Alucard's mind, and was followed with a furious booming voice that seemed to come from God himself. "Stay out of my thoughts!" The phrase echoed for some moments through his mind, but soon faded as the pain eased.  
Alucard panted heavily, lying upon his back on the bloodied floor. His long pointed tongue hung from the side of his mouth, and his ivory fangs glittered in the light of the main hall. His screeching had attracted a small group into the room, who all stood well out of the way to watch, all curious of what had happened.  
A dull ache settled into his marrow, making his every movement an effort. The vampire looked up, and growled at his audience, baring his fangs then dragging himself to the wall. That was not expected, but it seemed Abraham was very firm about his mental privacy.  
OoOoO  
Abraham entered the manor, his eyes immediately gravitating to the far wall where his vampire lay against the wall with his back to him. Abraham approached slowly, stopping just short of the line drawn into the floor, and crossed his arms. The floor was covered with smeared, hours old blood. A clear sign that the seal had been keenly felt.  
"I don't know what you were thinking, but if you invade my mind again, there will be a price to pay on your part. Do you understand me?" he growled.  
It will not happen again, Master a smooth voice replied in his mind. Abraham narrowed his eyes. For some reason, the vampire had not been speaking physically, and only rarely mentally. Of course, this could be due to some soreness and aftereffects of any experiments on his throat.  
"No, it will not. You will not be fed until I believe you've learned not to invade my mind." Abraham stated, whirling on a heel to stride up the steps for his office. Alucard rolled to his back, watching after his master with four glowing eyes. Two new eyes had opened, one above each of the normal eyes.  
"We shall see," his cold voice answered in reply.

Chapter 2: Final Chapter

Abraham groaned as he opened his eyes. The blow to the side of his head had sent him reeling to the ground, and nearly knocked him out. In his daze, he could hear the screams of his companions, as they were ripped apart by the vampire. Abraham could feel blood drip down his chin from the blow he had been dealt from when he had opened its coffin.  
A dark chuckle rumbled over him, and Abraham knew by the sudden silence that his fellows were dead.  
"You stupid fool," a dark voice, thick with native accent, rumbled.  
"How could you possibly think you could win?"  
Abraham cried out when a boot connected sharply with his stomach. Coughing, he rolled to his back and looked up into the glowing pricks of Dracula's eyes.  
It was true, he had lost. There was no point in trying to escape. The sun was down, and the night had only just begun. As he looked into the vampire's eyes, he noticed there was victory there, but also something else. Dracula's eyes were filled with such a raw hatred that Abraham could not help but shudder.  
"Stupid fool," the vampire snarled again, crouching to grab the collar of Abraham's coat and raise him into the air.  
"I should rip you apart as I did your friends, or add you to my garden." Abraham shuddered, having seen the 'garden' once. A small forest of wooden spires with bodies in all stages of decomposition impaled upon them.  
"But I don't think I will. Too much of a waste." Abraham crumpled to the ground when Dracula released him. "It's been a while since I've had a little human pet. My pets do not normally last very long."  
Abraham felt sick to his stomach, and had to fight to keep from throwing up. How much he must amuse this beast. Apparently, it was this amusement that was keeping him alive…for the moment.  
Dracula laughed, and Abraham felt himself lifted and tossed into the vampire's coffin.  
"Be a good boy and don't tear the lining," Dracula hissed, shutting the lid.  
OoOoO  
Abraham's eyes snapped open, and he gazed into four, glowing red orbs as he breathed heavily from the dream. It seemed too real, so lifelike, as if history had reversed upon that night. Shock flooded over him as he realized Alucard was straddling his waist, and gazing at him, four eyes in two columns upon his face.  
"The hell!" He snarled, arching his back to draw a leg between them and shove the vampire off. Alucard made no sound, and Abraham had a strong feeling that the vampire would not have been moved if he did not want to be. Alucard rolled in the air, and landed gracefully on his feet across the room, the four eyes never leaving Abraham.  
"How did you get loose?" Abraham growled, sitting up and mentally reaching for the seal. Alucard only grinned, bowing and disappearing as if he had been nothing more than a figment of the human's imagination.  
Abraham sat in shock for a moment, and then rolled to his feet, not even bothering to put on his robe as he ran out of his room and to the balcony to look down where the vampire was being kept chained.  
Alucard was curled up, apparently sleeping peacefully as the sun was now rising. Abraham stared at the sleeping vampire, and then sank to his knees on the balcony, gripping the railing as he panted. The dream had seemed so real, as if it had actually happened. He could even still feel the hurt on his side where he had been kicked, and a pounding headache from where he had been struck.  
A hand slipped from the rail to press against his ribs where Dracula had kicked him in his dream, and sharp pain turned his vision white. Crying out, he flinched to the side, and looked down to see a dark bruise forming. Abraham's eyes widened, and his hand shot to his face, where he had been struck, and found the area equally as sore, and dried blood caking the side of his face.  
Abraham stood, working to calm himself as he gripped the rail and looked down again at the vampire. His eyes met with four very bright red eyes staring up at him. The eyes were perfectly matched by a wide, malicious grin. He did this, the vampire knew exactly what was happening, and was delighting in Abraham's reaction.  
The human turned quickly, still trying to rid his body of sleep and shock. He stumbled back into his room, shutting the door behind him and sliding to the floor. His vampire was not allowed to hurt him, let alone draw blood. How had such injuries come to his physical form! Dreams were one thing, but this was something completely different!  
Alucard must have manipulated him while he was sleeping to hurt himself. That was the only way, it had to be the only way. Abraham stood, staggering slightly to the bathroom to turn the shower on to a scalding hot then step under it, wincing as boiling water ran over his skin. The water took its desired effect, bringing his body from shock and sleep. Stepping from the shower, Abraham gripped the sink and looked into the mirror at his reflection.  
He looked a mess. White as a sheet, and a nasty black eye. Dracula would not win. The doctors must have introduced chemicals that tampered with the seal's magic. That could be fixed. It had to be fixed. The vampire would not be free again!  
Once he had calmed himself, and forced his mind to work in a rational way around this new challenge, the Hellsing finished dressing, and used a touch of makeup to hide the bruise around his eye. He could not be seen with such a wound.  
Checking himself in the mirror a final time, Abraham slipped into his long red coat and exited his room, heading straight for the vampire. Again, Alucard appeared to be sleeping peacefully, but Abraham knew better.  
"Get up," the human commanded fiercely, trying to refrain from stepping too close, not matter how badly he wanted to kick the thing.  
Alucard cracked an eye, a slow grin spreading on his face again.  
"Good morning, Master. Did you not sleep well?" His voice was filled with mockery, and he sat up on his knees to grin up at his master.  
Abraham was not amused, and took a long step forward to backhand the vampire across the face.  
"How did you do it, beast? How were you able to injure me? Answer me!"  
"You have absolutely no imagination when it comes to interrogation or torture, Master," Alucard stated, licking a line of blood that ran from his busted lip.  
"Surely you can do better than that," the vampire pressed, turning his back toward the man and spreading his arms out at his sides.  
"Whip me, Master. Do you not want to hear me scream?"  
Abraham could not believe the sight before him. It was impossible. Was the vampire testing him, or had the thing completely lost every scrap of his sanity.  
"Answer me!" Abraham pressed, his eyes narrowed with fury. "How did you do it?"  
"Beat me," Alucard laughed, tossing his head back but never turning back to Abraham.  
"Tell me!"  
"Whip me!"  
"Alucard!"  
"Rape me!"  
A gunshot echoed through the empty hallway as Abraham drew his pistol and discharged a solid silver bullet into the vampire's skull. Alucard crumpled to the ground in a pool of blood. Abraham grit his teeth as he stood over the body, shaking with fury. The vampire was mad, completely. Even the odd physical manifestations proved something was drastically wrong. Four eyes, and Abraham noticed other things as well, such as the odd way Alucard's hair was moving. It was almost like a demon version of Medusa's serpents.  
Abraham quickly left, calling for a few of the caretakers to come and clean up the mess, and to transport the body into the dungeons. When he returned, he was shocked, his jaw slack when he saw the vampire curled up upon the floor, sleeping peacefully yet again. There was no sign of injury to his skull, and upon inspection, not a drop or splatter of blood anywhere.  
The caretakers looked from one to another. Everyone knew no vampire could survive a shot with a solid silver bullet. Abraham had said the creature was dead, shot with silver, yet here it was, sleeping normally. It was not like the Hellsing leader to play any sort of joke. They unlocked the vampire's collar chain anyway, transporting the half asleep creature to his cell in the dungeons.  
Abraham frowned, still trying to understand what had happened. He even drew his pistol to check the rounds, just incase they had been lead instead of silver. Every bullet was shining silver.  
Perhaps he was truly dreaming again, and would wake up from this. Abraham groaned, resting his palm against his head. Alucard was safely locked into the dungeons, where nothing could escape. He would take his time about revisiting the vampire. They needed to run a few tests to see exactly what was happening with the seals.  
OoOoO  
"You need to lose weight. Rather pudgy human." The vampire circled around his stripped prize, his red eyes taking in every part of his exposed pet. Abraham shivered, never really understanding how cold these lands were until his clothes had been ripped from him. He sat upon the stone floor, staring at one of the stones he seemed to find very interesting while the Count circled like a bird of prey.  
"We will have to work on your weight. There are plenty of jobs for you here. English are so pampered, wouldn't you agree?" Dracula grinned when the human stiffened, his hands curling into fists upon the ground.  
"Yes," Abraham grated out, having already been slapped around for not replying to questions, and kicked a few times for speaking when not asked anything.  
"So close," the vampire trilled. "Try again."  
Abraham squeezed his eyes shut, shaking his head as he tried to fight the vampire's will pressing into his mind.  
"Yes, Sir," he corrected himself. Or so he thought.  
"One more try, my little pet," Dracula chuckled, crouching before Abraham to snag his chin and force his head upward.  
"Look into my eyes, pet. Answer me as you should."  
"Yes, Master," Abraham groaned, unable to resist the direct contact that came when the vampire's eyes captured his.  
"Good boy. Perhaps I'll reward you later, but for now, I believe it's time to get you warm. I rather forget that humans need warmth."  
Abraham stood, ready to follow Dracula to wherever this warmth would be, but a clawed hand on his shoulder stopped him midway.  
"No, pet. Dogs do not walk like men. Dogs walk like dogs," the vampire stated, easily pushing Abraham back to the ground.  
"Come, I shall show you your room, then we will get you warmed." Dracula turned on a heel, expecting Abraham to follow. Abraham just watched a pair of black boots step silently from the room. He tried to rise from his knees, only to find that the cool air over his back felt solid, like a brick wall.  
Biting his tongue, Abraham began to crawl across the floor, keenly feeling the humiliation at having to crawl naked after the vampire as if he were an animal. But would he really treat the beast so different if the positions were switched? It was an odd thought to have at this time, but one that fluttered among the other thoughts nonetheless.  
OoOoO  
His eyes snapped open, catching sight of a fleeing shadow before it disappeared like an apparition. His entire body ached, burning with frigid cold, and sharp pain. Abraham brought his hands to his face, groaning to see them bloodied and cut as if he truly had spent hours crawling on his hands and kneed across the sharp stones of an ancient castle.  
Alucard was slipping the seal. There was no way to explain this occurrence but the truth he had been denying himself for so long. Something must be done. Abraham sat up, wincing at the soreness of his muscles and wrapping the blankets around himself to keep from freezing. The room was a comfortable warm temperature, but his body felt as if he had sat naked in an empty castle of cold stone deep in the Carpathians.  
"I need to strengthen the seal," Abraham whispered to himself, standing and like the night before, standing in the shower of scalding water. Again the water helped to cool his head, and warm his body, but did little to ease the worry of his mind.  
Abraham dressed, working to cover new bruises and even going to far as to slip gloves on to cover the wounds on his hands. Several of the caretakers noticed his declining state, but figured this was from his not sleeping well over work. He had them bring Alucard into one of the labs, and quickly put the vampire asleep with a large amount of drugging. He didn't want to hear Alucard's taunting, he only wanted to fix the seal and get back into control.  
Nothing he did worked. He spent weeks working, but nothing helped. Every night when he slept, he would become Dracula's slave yet again. Each morning when he would wake, he would catch some form of Alucard fleeing the room, whether a shadow, red eyes, or the creature himself standing in the corner.  
Abraham steadily declined in health, working to conceal his growing injuries. One morning he woke with a gasp, finding himself with several broken ribs. Alucard's physical oddities were also growing in number. His eyes increased to eight, and his form took on canine parallels. The vampire's powers seemed to increase tenfold each night.  
The Hellsing started working to stay awake as long as he could, going days without sleep. Alucard was kept drugged in hopes that the dreams would end if the vampire were not aware. The dreams continued, the injured continued, and no matter where he locked the vampire, Alucard always seemed to be fleeing his room after a dream.  
The staff noticed Abraham's declining health, and hushed whispers moved through the mansion that he had taken ill from one of the vampiric experiments, or that he had become one of the undead himself. Abraham found himself shunned by the staff quite often, but he realized their rumors, and never gave up hope.  
OoOoO  
"Run, my little pet, run until you exhaust yourself," Dracula laughed, beating his wings as he followed Abraham's desperate bid at freedom. Abraham had lept from a window, landing safely in the snow and ran with all his might from the castle in hopes of escape. Unfortunately, Dracula could feel whenever anyone entered or left his domain, and was soon gliding overhead, following Abraham.  
Abraham's heart nearly stopped when he saw the vampire flying, great bat like wings spread from his back and beating the air like thunder.  
"Run!" the vampire snarled when Abraham collapsed, exhaustion gripping his insides and twisting them painfully from lack of oxygen. "Run! You wished to run so badly, so you will RUN!"  
Abraham groaned, pushing up with his arms, hating the snow, for it hid stones and branches from him. A low growl behind him urged him to rise faster, and a small pack of wolves emerged from the darkness of the trees.  
"RUN!"  
The wolves lept at him, snarling and snapping at his legs. Abraham cried out, lunging from them and calling upon energy he did not know he had. He could hear the beasts snapping at his heels, and felt their hot breath on the back of his legs. Any misstep would be to hand over his life to their jaws.  
The snow tricked him again, and he fell. A wolf was on him in an instant, tearing at the back of his shirt. Abraham screamed, grabbing a stone and slamming it against the animal's head, desperate to rise and continue his flee.  
"RUN!"  
Blood ran down his back where the wolf's fangs had torn his flesh, but he ignored it, hearing the pack only inches behind him. He didn't even dare look back, knowing that to take his eyes from the goal would mean certain death.  
"RUN!"  
It was not long before he could no longer get air into his lungs, and he fell, not from misstep or obstacle, but from sheer exhaustion. Abraham lay in the snow, amongst the stones and leaves and snow as a snarling pack formed a circle around him. If he had the energy, he would have risen to run again, and run to his death if he had not already.  
Dracula loomed suddenly in his vision, leering down at him with the grin that constantly seemed to hold his features.  
"Poor little pet," the vampire cooed, crouching over Abraham as he gasped, desperate for every breath of air.  
"My dear pet is exhausted," Dracula chuckled, reaching out to rub the back of his hand over Abraham's cheek.  
"Too bad he ran before he knew what else he had to do this night, because he is still expected to perform his duties to his master."  
Abraham found himself hoisted over the vampire's shoulder, and lifted into the air. The last thing he saw was the deep red silk that lined his master's coffin, before the vampire descended upon him, the maddening grin ever present.  
OoOoO  
Abraham walked stiffly down the corridors, pushing the heavy steel door open to reveal the beast within.  
"Hello, Master," Alucard's cool voice floated to him from the darkness. "You look terrible. Perhaps you should sleep."  
"How dare you?" Abraham growled, his own voice tired and weak. He had been unable to sleep, forcing himself to stay up for several nights ever since that dream, and was very close to his breaking point.  
"You should have thought very carefully, Master. Cockiness is what felled me," Alucard sat up, his physical form wild. His hair flew about him as if it were black flame, eight eyes running in two columns down his face all blinked out of sync, and a large slit had formed across the center of his chest, and Abraham had a cold feeling it was the mark of the final chapter to their battle of wills.  
"You see, Master, I have a very long memory. I never forget," Alucard laughed, another mouth opening on his shoulder, its maw filled with teeth as shark like as the vampire's normal mouth. A pair of voices cackled at him, yet Abraham worked to keep his face hidden behind a mask of calm.  
"You will not win. I will not let you, Count. I captured you!"  
"But you cannot hold me. It was your own foolishness that broke it. Your doctors hit a trigger in me it seems, and advanced my powers far past what they could have ever reached. How does it feel, dear Master, to have another man on top of you?"  
Abraham clenched his fists, his pale blue eyes darkening with fury as the memory of the last dream surfaced. Again the beast laughed, and a third maw of teeth opened on his outer thigh, adding to the ring of sinister laughter.  
The slit on the vampire's chest snapped open, revealing a massive blood red eye, which followed him even as he turned and fled the cell.  
OoOoO  
"You stupid FOOL!" Dracula snarled, slashing Abraham across the face with his claws. The human let out a cry, landing across the room with deep gashes bleeding over his face. He shook from terror as the vampire pressed down on him, lifting him up by the throat and throwing him across the room.  
"You thought you could kill me! Stake me in my sleep! You will pay DEARLY for this, mortal! Your usefulness and interest has run out. I've no use for you any longer."  
Abraham groaned, trying to pick himself up from the floor, feeling hot blood drip from his face and pool on the floor. It had been a desperate leap for freedom. His last chance after he had been caught running. Abraham had hand made a stake, and taken a stone as a hammer. Entering the sacred place his master slept, he opted to stake the creature, but failed miserably.  
"You, are nothing to me," Dracula snarled, grasping Abraham around the throat and lifting him into he air yet again. "Nothing." He hissed, baring his fangs. The sound of ripping fabric filled his ears as the vampire spread his wings. Massive bat like wings that could easily hold them both in the air.  
Dracula snapped his wings down, lifting them into the air and lunging through a window. They circled slowly around the castle, until the impaling gardens came into view.  
"I have the perfect one for you," Dracula hissed into his ear. Abraham wrapped his hands around the vampire's wrist, unable to get a breath from the grip on his throat, and terrified at the sight of the stakes. Dracula was indeed a sadistic being, having taken great care to cut limbs from trees, and sharpen the trunks so he would never have to move the stakes, and they would never rot. The stakes were the sharpened trunks of living trees.  
Dracula hovered over one particularly nasty stake, and held Abraham several feet over the point.  
"You've lost weight in our time together. I foresee it taking a few days before you're well settled. It's the weight that drives you down," he purred, pressing his lips against Abraham's jaw.  
"You were a strong opponent, but I am the stronger," Dracula snarled, letting go. Abraham trembled, his eyes wide and full of terror as he was let go over the point. A scream ripped through his lungs as he felt the wood rip between his legs, the few feet offering plenty of time to gain enough momentum to push his own body down.  
Dracula was on top of him in an instant, pressing his hands onto his shoulders and forcing his body down onto the stake. Abraham went into shock, his form twitching as the wood ripped through his loins, and into his organs.  
"Good pet," Dracula purred, licking blood from his lips.  
OoOoO  
Abraham screamed, sitting up in his bed and trembling with sheer terror. He was covered in a sheen of sweat, and tears still ran from his eyes. Pain still thrummed in a vertical line through his body, as if he could still feel the steak. A dark chuckling reached his ears from across the room, and the human's head shot up to meet cool red orbs watching him.  
Dracula stepped from the shadows, a perfect, gleaming grin spread over his face. The vampire's features were perfect once again, young, well fed, and rivaling that of a Greek god. Again Dracula laughed, holding up his hands so Abraham could see their backs. The perfect smooth flesh was unmarred. There was no sign of the sigil that had bound him to the human.  
"Time's up," the vampire chuckled, tossing his head back and laughing.


End file.
